This book deals with the dynamics of international specializations during the present period of trade globalization. It discusses international trade as a network linking countries, and uses structural techniques to analyze the evolving structure of this network. It offers a new approach to address the economic emergence of countries. Using these structural methods, the book also explains knowledge exchange. Indeed, the structure transformation of the international trade is partly due to an exchange of competencies between regions. Many concrete examples are proposed.
There are very few recent books that propose methodological overviews on the use of structural techniques to study the dynamics of international trade. Moreover, very few contributions exist which link international trade in both products and technological knowledge perspectives. From a historical point of view, it is now time to take stock of the cognitive determinants of the economic development of countries.