Extending Economic Complexity Index to a Ternary Complexity Index

Economic complexity measures have been constructed on the basis of bilateral country-product network data. In this study, we submit a Ternary Complexity Index (TCI), which explicitly incorporates technological complexity as a third dimension, measured in terms of patents. TCI is based on Lotka-Volterra equations and thus the evolution of an innovation eco-system can be specified unambiguously. We perform model calculations based on empirical data and simulate the diachronic extensions. The results suggest that TCI improves on Hidalgo & Hausmann’ and Tacchella et al. measures as an indicator of future economic growth.

Keywords: economic complexity; metrics; triple helix; eco-system; simulation

JEL Classification: C6; O4

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Ivanova, Inga and Strand, Øivind and Leydesdorff, Loet, Extending Economic Complexity Index to a Ternary Complexity Index (November 16, 2017). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3072335 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3072335