Industry Connectivity Analysis
The attached graphic is a network diagram that shows major interactions among about 60 industry sectors that cover most segments of the US economy.* Essentially, it is a representation of what is required, as output in dollars, from one industry to produce a unit dollar value of output in another. As such, it shows how sectors of the economy interrelate – in both linkages and strength of required contribution of one sector to another. The graphic is also symbolic of the extent to which our culture, as represented by the economic structure, depends on these relationships.
Industry size (diameter of circle): Node (industry) sizes represent the degree of connectivity based on the sum of total output required and number of connections.
Connection: The width of the line and distance from connecting industry represent the strength of that connection (level of requirement from that industry). A wide line represents a stronger connection, as does a shorter path between industries.
Industry group (color): The color coding is based on a Modularity Class calculation, often called a community structure, which describes how the network is compartmentalized into sub-networks of related sectors.
* In the original data, virtually all industries interrelate to some degree. For this illustration, only requirement values above the (arbitrarily selected) overall average were included, a value that is a compromise between diagram readability and a demonstration of the interrelationships.