DP10406 The Economic Consequences of Social Network Structure

Author(s):	Matthew O. Jackson, Brian Rogers, Yves Zenou
Publication Date:	February 2015
Keyword(s):	centrality measures, contagion, diffusion, endogeneity, homophily, network formation., social economics, social learning, Social networks
JEL(s):	C72, D85, L14, Z13
Programme Areas:	Public Economics
Link to this Page:	cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=10406

We survey the literatures on the economic consequences of the structure of social networks. We develop a taxonomy of 'macro' and 'micro' characteristics of social inter-action 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.