4,079 research outputs found
Network inference and community detection, based on covariance matrices, correlations and test statistics from arbitrary distributions
In this paper we propose methodology for inference of binary-valued adjacency
matrices from various measures of the strength of association between pairs of
network nodes, or more generally pairs of variables. This strength of
association can be quantified by sample covariance and correlation matrices,
and more generally by test-statistics and hypothesis test p-values from
arbitrary distributions. Community detection methods such as block modelling
typically require binary-valued adjacency matrices as a starting point. Hence,
a main motivation for the methodology we propose is to obtain binary-valued
adjacency matrices from such pairwise measures of strength of association
between variables. The proposed methodology is applicable to large
high-dimensional data-sets and is based on computationally efficient
algorithms. We illustrate its utility in a range of contexts and data-sets
Identifying the community structure of the international food-trade multi network
Achieving international food security requires improved understanding of how
international trade networks connect countries around the world through the
import-export flows of food commodities. The properties of food trade networks
are still poorly documented, especially from a multi-network perspective. In
particular, nothing is known about the community structure of food networks,
which is key to understanding how major disruptions or 'shocks' would impact
the global food system. Here we find that the individual layers of this network
have densely connected trading groups, a consistent characteristic over the
period 2001 to 2011. We also fit econometric models to identify social,
economic and geographic factors explaining the probability that any two
countries are co-present in the same community. Our estimates indicate that the
probability of country pairs belonging to the same food trade community depends
more on geopolitical and economic factors -- such as geographical proximity and
trade agreements co-membership -- than on country economic size and/or income.
This is in sharp contrast with what we know about bilateral-trade determinants
and suggests that food country communities behave in ways that can be very
different from their non-food counterparts.Comment: 47 pages, 19 figure
- …