Matthew C. Mahutga

Economic Globalisation and the Structure of the World City System: The Case of Airline Passenger Data

This paper reports results from an analysis of the relationship between the structure of the city-to-city network of global airline passenger flows and the interstate world system. While many scholars suggest that the broader parameters of the world system structure the urban hierarchy embedded within or articulated to it, others argue that the urban hierarchy is decoupling from the world system. The analyses show that there has been some modest convergence in the distribution of power in the world city system. Moreover, they suggest that the mechanism for this convergence is the upward mobility of cities located in the semi-periphery and the east Asian region. The paper closes by considering the implication of these findings for a larger understanding of the relationship between globalisation, the structure of the world city system and its articulation with the world system.

Foreign Investment and Income Inequality The Natural Experiment of Central and Eastern Europe

How does foreign direct investment (FDI) affect income inequality? We bring evidence from the natural experiment of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) to bear on a hotly debated topic. We begin by outlining the literature on the effect of FDI on income inequality, and the serious critiques offered by Firebaugh that raised doubt on previous research. We then discuss the ways in which CEE countries provide a natural experiment with which to contribute to this debate. We estimate a series of fixed effects regression models that relate income inequality to foreign investment and a baseline internal development model. We find that foreign investment has a robust positive effect on income inequality, net of unmeasured heterogeneity across cases, the internal development model, additional controls, and the critiques offered by Firebaugh. Further, we show that the effect is observable over the short term, no matter how FDI is measured. We conclude by directing attention to CEE countries as a historically unique opportunity to gauge the effect of exposure to the world economy on many development outcomes.

Computing continuous core/periphery structures for social relations data with MINRES/SVD

Abstract When diagonal values are missing or excluded, MINRES is a natural continuous model for the core/periphery structure of a symmetric social network matrix. Symmetric models, however, are not so useful when dealing with asymmetric data. Singular value decomposition (SVD) is a natural choice to model asymmetry, but this method also requires the presence of diagonal values. In this paper we offer an alternative, more general, approach to continuous core/periphery structures, the minimum residual singular value decomposition (MINRES/SVD), where each node in the network receives two indices, an “in-coreness” and an “out-coreness.” The algorithm for computing these coreness vectors is a least squares computation similar to, but distinct from the SVD, again because of the missing diagonal values. And in contrast to the standard, symmetric MINRES algorithm, we can more accurately model asymmetric matrices. This allows us to distinguish, for example, countries in the world economy that are more in the exporting core than they are in the importing core. We propose two nested PRE (proportional reduction of error) measures of fit: (1) the PRE from the MINRES vector with respect to the data and (2) the PRE of the product of the two MINRES/SVD vectors. Applying the resulting method to citations between journals and to international trade in clothing, we illustrate insights gained from being able to model asymmetrical flow patterns. Finally, two permutation tests are introduced to test independently for the MINRES and MINRES/SVD results.

Global models of networked organization, the positional power of nations and economic development

ABSTRACT Interdisciplinary literature on global commodity chains (GCCs)/global value chains (GVCs) and global production networks (GPNs) contends that inter-firm power differentials within globally networked forms of economic organization have implications for the developmental trajectories of nation-states. In this article, I advance these literatures in three ways. First, I bridge the two approaches by elaborating an exchange-theoretic conceptualization of inter-firm power that is latent in the two literatures. This conceptualization focuses narrowly on the determinants of inter-firm power asymmetries and is useful for explaining why actual production networks vary in terms of the relative power of buyers and producers. Second, I develop an empirical framework to advance basic research on the link between globally networked forms of economic organization and national economic development. In particular, I derive cross-nationally and temporally comparable country-level measurements of the average bargaining power of a countrys resident firms using industry-specific international exchange (trade) networks. I demonstrate the validity of these indices through a historical analysis of trade networks in the transport equipment and garment industries and by analysing cross-national variations in wages in the two industries. Finally, I conclude by charting a parallel path for GCC/GVC and GPN research that implicates global models of network organization in macro-comparative analyses of economic development.

Measuring Centrality and Power Recursively in the World City Network: A Reply to Neal

In a recent article, Zachary Neal (2011) distinguishes between centrality and power in world city networks and proposes two measures of recursive power and centrality. His effort to clarify oversimplistic interpretations of relational measures of power and position in world city networks is appreciated. However, Neal’s effort to innovate methodologically is based on theoretical reasoning that is dubious when applied to world city networks. And his attempt to develop new measures is flawed since he conflates ‘eigenvector centrality’ with ‘beta centrality’ and then argues that ‘eigenvector-based approaches’ to recursive power and centrality are ill-suited to world city networks. The main problem is that his measures of ‘recursive’ centrality and power are not recursive at all and thus are of very limited utility. It is concluded that established eigenvector centrality measures used in past research (which Neal critiques) provide more useful gauges of power and centrality in world city networks than his new indexes.

Production Networks and the Organization of the Global Manufacturing Economy

In this article, I explicate an organizational theory that links global models of networked organization to cross-national variation in manufacturing specialization. To subject the theory to empirical scrutiny, I derive cross-nationally comparable measurements of the average network position of resident firms in two industries with ideal-typical forms of network governance—garments and transportation equipment. Analytical results suggest that manufacturing specialization varies by network position in both industries, even when controlling for time-invariant country-specific organizational unobservables and conventional thinking on international specialization. Moreover, these networks matter only during the period after which the two types of governance are alleged to have become the predominant organizational logic of the two industries, and are more important for manufacturing specialization in the transport-equipment industry. The article concludes by implicating these findings in discussions of the distribution of the gains from networked forms of economic organization.

Structures of globalization: Evidence from the worldwide network of bilateral investment treaties (1959–2009)

Existing sociological theories of international relations yield contrasting predictions for their structure that range from an increasingly dense and universally tied network to networks in which ties tend to concentrate within or between certain types of economically, politically or culturally defined blocs. We contribute to this growing body of empirical research by analyzing original data on the complete worldwide network of bilateral investment treaties (BITs) as it has evolved over the course of 50 years since its inception in 1959. We find that the number of BITs increases almost exponentially over time to include nearly all of the world’s countries. However, the density of ties between advanced capitalist and others is stronger than for any other dyadic types. We also find patterns of regional homophily, but only in Asia, East Asia, Postsocialist Europe and Eurasia, and North Africa/Middle East. These findings suggest that existing explanations of globalization are more complementary than contending. Theorizing about any particular global outcome thus requires attention to the simultaneity of material and cultural forces and the interplay of transnational and local socio-historical developments. Our analysis of the structure of the BIT network also helps explain the weak link between foreign direct investment and BITs discovered in previous research.

Promoting Patriarchy or Dual Equality? Multiculturalism and the Immigrant Household Division of Labor

ABSTRACT In this article, we provide the first empirical analysis of the relationship between multicultural immigration policy and gender inequality within immigrant communities. A fierce sociological debate pits those who identify multiculturalism as a key obstacle to gender equality among immigrant families against those who believe multiculturalism and gender egalitarianism are “dual-equality projects.” At the core of this debate are differences over the extent to which multiculturalism impedes or promotes the transmission of gender egalitarianism from host societies to immigrant communities. To adjudicate between these two perspectives, we examine whether microfoundations of the household division of labor—relative resources, time availability, and gender ideology—reduce the share of women’s labor to a greater or lesser degree in multicultural countries. We find multiculturalism increases the egalitarian effects of microfoundations among immigrant households. Both symbolic and material forms of multiculturalism contribute to its moderating effect, but immigrant women benefit the most in countries with both types of multiculturalist policies. In highly multicultural countries, rising incomes, greater employment, and more egalitarian gender ideologies can produce dramatic reductions in housework for immigrant women. We conclude by specifying the conditions where multiculturalism reduce inequalities between immigrants and natives, and within immigrant communities.

Job tasks and the comparative structure of income and employment: Routine task intensity and offshorability for the LIS*:

Comparative sociologists have long considered occupations to be a key source of inequality. However, data constraints make comparative research on two of the more important contemporary drivers of occupational stratification – globalization and technological change – relatively scarce. This article introduces a new dataset on occupational ‘routine task intensity’ (RTI) and ‘offshorability’ (OFFS) for use with the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS). To produce these data, we recoded 23 country-specific occupational schemes (74 LIS country-years) to the two-digit ISCO-88 scheme. When combined with the handful of LIS countries already reporting their occupations in ISCO-88, we produce individual level RTI and OFFS scores for 38 LIS countries and 160 LIS country-years. To assess the validity of these recodes, we compare average labor-income ratios predicted by recoded ISCO-88 occupational categories to those predicted by reported ISCO-88 occupational categories within countries that transitioned from country-specific to ISCO-88 codes over time. To assess the utility of these RTI and OFFS scores and advance the literature on income polarization, we analyze their association with work hours and labor incomes in the global North and South. Both covariates correlate with work hours in ways that are consistent with previous research and additional theoretical considerations. Moreover, we show that both RTI and OFFS contribute to income polarization directly in the North, but not in the South. This article generates a public good data infrastructure that will be of use to a wide variety of social scientists, and brings new evidence to bear on the question of income polarization in rich democracies.

Comparative Political Economy of Work

In Comparative Political Economy of Work, the editors and contributors examine various aspects of labor relations among advanced capitalist countries in the immediate postcrisis period. In a well-written and highly informative introductory chapter, editors Matt Vidal and Marco Hauptmeier articulate the key goal of the anthology, which is to initiate a dialogue between ‘‘comparative political economy’’ (CPE) and ‘‘labour process theory’’ (LPT) [sic]. While the ‘‘dialogue’’ proceeds more often than not as a frontal assault on one variant of CPE (Varieties of Capitalism [VoC]) and different underlying assumptions of CPE (VoC) and LPT necessarily produce alternative research programs, the collection rightly diagnoses a tension in political economy (broadly conceived) that, if addressed, could help to reorient the field. Vidal and Hauptmeier’s introductory review traces the historical development of the two bodies of literature. American readers will recognize LPT as the intellectual offspring of Harry Braverman, further elaborated by Michael Burawoy’s classic analysis of shop-floor dynamics. LPT provides a distinctly Marxist account of labor relations insofar as any particular instance of firmlevel governance is a solution to the common tensions produced by capitalist relations of production: the conflicting interests of capital and labor vis-à-vis control and remuneration. For Vidal and Hauptmeier, CPE emerged in the 1970s as a backlash against the post-war hegemony of neoclassical economics and modernization theory. Beginning with the concept of neo-corporatism in the 1970s, progressing through cross-national comparisons of industrial relations by Ronald Dore and Wolfgang Streeck and climaxing with Peter A. Hall and David Soskice’s varieties of capitalism (VoC), CPE focuses ‘‘on national institutions and politics in structuring and shaping social and economic life’’ (p. 3). That is, CPE eschews general notions of capitalism and instead focuses on the ways in which the form and function of national economies depart in significant ways from the pure capitalist archetype and can only be comprehended by attending to variation in key institutions across countries. Space constraints preclude a discussion of each chapter, so I instead focus on several individual chapters that together offer a representative picture of the book’s major themes. Jason Heyes, Paul Lewis, and Ian Clark tackle the causes and consequences of the ‘‘great recession.’’ Openly hostile to VoC, the authors begin by locating the causes of the financial crisis in the incompatibility of two contending models of growth: financialization (occurring primarily in liberal market economies [LME]) and export-led growth (occurring primarily in coordinated market economies [CME]), which lead to interdependent current account imbalances such as the U.S./Chinese trade deficit/surplus. Consistent with LPT, the authors argue that both models have in common a tendency to weaken the position of labor vis-à-vis capital. The data marshaled present a rather nuanced portrait, however, insofar as there remain yawning gaps in union density, income inequality, collective bargaining, and social spending between CMEs and LMEs, with no clear pattern in relative changes over time. A manifest and latent critique of the VoC perspective is a common theme in the book, as is a failure to find empirical evidence consistent with VoC expectations. In examining the effect of employment flexibility on unionization and strikes in the European Union, for example, Giedo Jansen and Agnes Akkerman find little evidence that these effects vary across VoC. Tackling the key VoC insight that particular national capitalisms generate particular types of competitive advantage, Stefan Kirchner and Jürgen Beyer compare the trajectories of flexibilization and innovation of German firms to an ideal-typical diversified quality production model. The authors find elements of the traditional German model among the heavy manufacturing firms, but even this model has undergone a transformation toward greater flexibility through outsourcing. Moreover, the authors argue there is more (sectoral) diversity than might be expected by the VoC perspective. 450 Reviews