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DebtStreamness: an ecological approach to credit flows in interfirm networks
Anahí Rodríguez-Martínez1, Silvia Bartolucci1, Francesco Caravelli2
1Department of Computer Science, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6EA, United Kingdom.
PNAS Nexus
|June 8, 2026
Summary
We introduce DebtStreamness (DS), a new metric to track credit flow through business networks. DS reveals hidden financial structures and improves understanding of systemic credit risk.
Area of Science:
- Economics
- Ecology
- Network Science
Background:
- Financial stability and systemic risk assessment depend on understanding credit flow in interfirm networks.
- Existing methods may not fully capture the complexities of credit intermediation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce and validate DebtStreamness (DS), a novel metric for quantifying firm positions in credit chains.
- To analyze the structure of interfirm credit networks and identify key intermediaries.
Main Methods:
- Developed DebtStreamness (DS) metric inspired by ecological trophic levels.
- Applied DS to interfirm credit and financial institution-firm network data from Uruguay.
- Utilized credit registry and survey data from the Central Bank of Uruguay.
- Validated DS using maximum-entropy network reconstruction methods.
Main Results:
- Credit chains in Uruguay are generally short and exhibit a tiered structure with intermediaries.
- Network motifs like loops significantly influence a firm's DS.
- DS captures distinct financial structures not evident in input-output linkages.
- DS robustly identifies systemic credit structures.
Conclusions:
- DebtStreamness (DS) provides a valuable ecological perspective on systemic credit risk.
- The metric highlights the significance of hidden financial intermediation within firm networks.
- DS offers a complementary approach to traditional economic analysis for financial risk assessment.
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