The Economic Consequences of Social Network Structure
65 Pages Posted: 31 Jan 2015 Last revised: 25 Feb 2016
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The Economic Consequences of Social Network Structure
The Economic Consequences of Social Network Structure
Date Written: February 2016
Abstract
We survey the literature on the economic consequences of the structure of social networks. We develop a taxonomy of 'macro' and 'micro' characteristics of social interaction networks and discuss both the theoretical and empirical findings concerning the role of those characteristics in determining learning, diffusion, decisions, and resulting behaviors. We also discuss the challenges of accounting for the endogeneity of networks in assessing the relationship between the patterns of interactions and behaviors.
Keywords: Social networks, social economics, homophily, diffusion, centrality measures, endogeneity, network formation
JEL Classification: D85, C72, L14, Z13
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation