Linking FDI and trade network topology with the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract Globalization has considerably increased the movement of people and goods around world, which constitutes a key channel viral infection. Increasingly close economic links between countries speeds up transfer information, knock-on effect crises, but also transmission diseases. Foreign direct investment (FDI) trade establish clear ties origin destination, it is along these chains that contagious phenomena can unfold. In this paper, we investigate whether countries’ centrality in both global production network corresponds to higher COVID-19 infection mortality rates. Merging data on EU-27 greenfield FDI international with infections deaths, find mostly exposed outbreak are those characterized by eigenvector centrality. This result robust use an alternative measure inclusion other possible confounding factors.