2025 Volume 55 Issue 1 Pages 63-83
In this paper, we propose a method to visualize a relationship network with countries as nodes, using WIOD input-output tables in order to analyze the essential connections between countries through trade transactions. Specifically, the proposed method constructs an EMST （Extended Minimum Spanning Tree） from an input-output table using the Z-score method, and visualizes it by adding upstreamness and United Nations classification category information. The results of network visualization, using WIOD from 2000 and 2014, show that it is possible to visually clarify the structure of international trade clusters, the relationship between upstreamness and regions, changes in countries playing central roles, and major trade routes. More specifically, we show that it is possible to easily visualize the fact that the structures of Western Europe, East Asia, and Northern Europe clusters are significantly different, that most countries in the Western Europe and Northern Europe clusters are in the middle of upstreamness, that the roles of Russia and Japan declined in 2014 compared to 2000, and that the relationship between Japan and China has weakened. Finally, some international trade clusters, each of which coincides with a region, can be automatically detected by adding an adequate number of links to the MST.
JEL Classification:C01, C02, F14
