# Impact of shocks to economies on the efficiency and robustness of the international pesticide trade networks

## TL;DR

This paper investigates how shocks to economies affect the efficiency and robustness of international pesticide trade networks using simulation-based analysis of various node removal strategies.

## Contribution

It introduces a simulation approach to assess the impact of economic shocks on trade network efficiency and robustness, highlighting vulnerabilities in import-oriented economies.

## Key findings

- Trade network efficiency generally increases after shocks, except for clustering coefficient.
- International trade networks are more fragile when import-oriented economies experience shocks.
- Different node removal strategies reveal varying impacts on network robustness.

## Abstract

Pesticides are important agricultural inputs to increase agricultural productivity and improve food security. The availability of pesticides is partially achieved through international trade. However, economies involved in the international trade of pesticides are impacted by internal and external shocks from time to time, which influence the redistribution efficiency of pesticides all over the world. In this work, we adopt simulations to quantify the efficiency and robustness of the international pesticide trade networks under shocks to economies. Shocks are simulated based on nine node metrics, and three strategies are utilized based on descending, random, and ascending node removal. It is found that the efficiency and robustness of the international trade networks of pesticides increased for all the node metrics except the clustering coefficient. Moreover, the international pesticide trade networks are more fragile when import-oriented economies are affected by shocks.