Network analysis and rule mining of export market structure evolvement

Networks are well-suited model for representing complex systems and processes. This paper proposed a novel perspective on study of the evolvement of export market structure by combining network-based approach with data mining technology. Firstly, bipartite networks were constructed to describe the relationships that form between enterprises and their export markets based on China´s Guangdong custom statistical data for the 2000-2005 periods. Network analysis techniques were used to analyze and describe the topology properties of the whole networks as well as their evolution over time. Secondly, data mining techniques were used to identify most frequent association relations and evolvement rule hidden in bipartite networks.