Myth of the triad? The geography of trade and investment 'blocs'

The notion that the world is increasingly divided into a triad of economic regions based on North America, the European Union and Japan has become a f orm of conventional wisdom across a range of disciplines. However, despite the near ubiquitous use of the idea of a triadized world, it remains a some what normative assertion, the empirical existence of which has yet to be de monstrated. By using the intramax method to analyze the intensity of intern ational trade and foreign direct investment flows during 1985 and 1995, we examine the changing shape of trade and investment 'blocs' globally. We fin d that while international trade is increasingly organized around fewer wor ld regions, the presumed outcome of a triad-based world economy remains que stionable. We further show that investment intensity patterns do not curren tly conform to any bloc-like formation, but exhibit instead, globally diffu sed network regions.