rebecca's pocket

» The Product Space and the Wealth of Nations is a new report by two economists and two physicists who broke down nation's export data and then mapped the results to come up with product networks [pdf]. The picture shows that the products some countries produce are deeply connected with the economy as a whole, while others—for example, oil-producing countries—may be outliers. Individual country maps are available here.

Slate has an interesting explanation of the clues this type of analysis might contain for policy-makers hoping to create more robust—diversified, interconnected, and sustainable—economies in developing nations.