Andrey Korotayev and Julia Zinkina
The aim of this paper is to investigate whether the structure of the international migration system has remained stable through the recent turbulent changes in the world system…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to investigate whether the structure of the international migration system has remained stable through the recent turbulent changes in the world system.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology draws on the social network analysis framework – but with some noteworthy limitations stipulated by the specifics of data.
Findings
The list of the most central nodes demonstrates remarkable stability over time, with the USA consistently occupying the first place and Russia and Germany stably entering the top-five (or even top-three ever since 1990). Centrality analysis also clearly demonstrates the emergence (in the 1970s) and development of the Gulf countries (particularly Saudi Arabia and UAE) as major migration destinations.
Research limitations/implications
The results of the analysis present a mixture of evidence to support both the principles of the neoclassical migration theory, and some of its critiques, as the migration patterns are strongly influenced by historical links (such as colonial ties), geographical distance, cultural distance, etc. Defining the scope of influence of each of these factors lies beyond the scale of this paper. However, further application of social network analysis to studying the global migration network, in the authors ' opinion, has quite remarkable potential for contributing to this line of research.
Originality/value
The paper views the specific features in the structure of the global migration network and their implications for world system studies.
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Keywords
Andrey Korotayev and Julia Zinkina
A substantial number of researchers have investigated the global economic dynamics of this time to disprove unconditional convergence and refute its very idea, stating the…
Abstract
Purpose
A substantial number of researchers have investigated the global economic dynamics of this time to disprove unconditional convergence and refute its very idea, stating the phenomenon of conditional convergence instead. However, most respective papers limit their investigation period with the early or mid-2000s. In the authors’ opinion, some of the global trends which revealed themselves particularly clearly in the second half of the 2000s call for a revision of the convergence issue. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
Several methodologies for measuring the global convergence/divergence trends exist in the economic literature. This paper seeks to contribute to the existing literature on unconditional β-convergence of the per capita incomes at the global level.
Findings
In the recent years, the gap between high-income and middle-income countries is decreasing especially rapidly. The gap between high-income and low-income countries, meanwhile, is decreasing at a much slower pace. At the same time, the gap between middle-income and low-income countries is actually widening. Indeed, in the early 1980s GDP per capita in the low-income countries was on average three times lower than in the middle-income countries, and this gap was totally overshadowed by the more than ten-time abyss between the middle-income and the high-income countries. Now, however, the GDP per capita in low-income countries lags behind the middle-income ones by more than five times, which is largely the same as the gap (rapidly contracting in the recent years) between the high-income and the middle-income countries. This clearly suggests that the configuration of the world system has experienced a very significant transformation in the recent 30 years.
Research limitations/implications
The research concentrates upon the dynamics of the gap in per capita income between the high-income, the middle-income, and the low-income countries.
Originality/value
This paper's originality/value lies in drawing attention to the specific changes in the structure of global convergence/divergence patterns and their implications for the low-income countries.
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Julia Zinkina, Andrey Korotayev and Aleksey I. Andreev
The purpose of this paper is to encourage discussions regarding the existing approaches to globalization measurement (taking mainly the form of indices and rankings) and their…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to encourage discussions regarding the existing approaches to globalization measurement (taking mainly the form of indices and rankings) and their shortcomings in terms of applicability to developing Global Studies curricula. Another aim is to propose an outline for the globalization measurement methodology that would take a systemic approach to revealing the global flows (both their direction and content) and networks, which will allow the multidimensionality in globalization measurement crucial for proposing and verifying formal explanations and hypotheses, as well as for developing globalization forecasts.
Design/methodology/approach
Several methodologies for globalization measurements are compared in the paper, among the most important are variations of the index compilation methodology, and methods of network analysis.
Findings
For Global Studies curricula, globalization measurement tools much more complex than indices are needed. A possible solution could lie in the analysis of country-to-country flows (and networks which these flows form), which appears much more data- and effort-consuming than the methodologies behind the index compilation, will allow the elaboration of a systemic vision of globalization and the interactions between its various aspects, which should necessarily underlie the Global Studies curricula.
Research limitations/implications
The research concentrates upon the most widespread approaches to globalization measurements, such as the most widely recognized globalization indices, and the few attempts at country-to-country flows and networks measurement.
Originality/value
The paper's originality/value lies in proposing an outline for a new multidimensional approach to measuring globalization based upon country-to-country flows and networks.