The stability analysis of socioeconomic systems has been centered on
answering whether small perturbations when a system is in a given quantitative
state will push the system permanently to a different quantitative state.
However, typically the quantitative state of socioeconomic systems is subject
to constant change. Therefore, a key stability question that has been
under-investigated is how strong the conditions of a system itself can change
before the system moves to a qualitatively different behavior, i.e., how
structurally stable the systems is. Here, we introduce a framework to
investigate the structural stability of socioeconomic systems formed by the
network of interactions among agents competing for resources. We measure the
structural stability of the system as the range of conditions in the
distribution and availability of resources compatible with the qualitative
behavior in which all the constituent agents can be self-sustained across time.
To illustrate our framework, we study an empirical representation of the global
socioeconomic system formed by countries sharing and competing for
multinational companies used as proxy for resources. We demonstrate that the
structural stability of the system is inversely associated with the level of
competition and the level of heterogeneity in the distribution of resources.
Importantly, we show that the qualitative behavior of the observed global
socioeconomic system is highly sensitive to changes in the distribution of
resources. We believe this work provides a methodological basis to develop
sustainable strategies for socioeconomic systems subject to constantly changing
conditions
