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Segregation in Friendship Networks

Segregation in Friendship Networks We analyze a network‐formation model where agents belong to different communities. Both individual benefits and costs depend on direct as well as indirect connections. Benefits of an indirect connection decrease with distance in the network, while the cost of a link depends on the type of agents involved. Two agents from the same community always face a low linking cost, while the cost of forming a relationship between two agents from different communities diminishes with the rate of exposure of each of them to the other community. We find that socialization among the same type of agent can be weak even if the cost of maintaining links within one's own type is very low. Our model also suggests that policies aimed at reducing segregation are socially desirable only if they reduce the within‐community cost differential by a sufficiently large amount. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png The Scandinavian Journal of Economics Wiley

Segregation in Friendship Networks

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References (65)

Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
© 2017 The editors of The Scandinavian Journal of Economics.
ISSN
0347-0520
eISSN
1467-9442
DOI
10.1111/sjoe.12178
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

We analyze a network‐formation model where agents belong to different communities. Both individual benefits and costs depend on direct as well as indirect connections. Benefits of an indirect connection decrease with distance in the network, while the cost of a link depends on the type of agents involved. Two agents from the same community always face a low linking cost, while the cost of forming a relationship between two agents from different communities diminishes with the rate of exposure of each of them to the other community. We find that socialization among the same type of agent can be weak even if the cost of maintaining links within one's own type is very low. Our model also suggests that policies aimed at reducing segregation are socially desirable only if they reduce the within‐community cost differential by a sufficiently large amount.

Journal

The Scandinavian Journal of EconomicsWiley

Published: Jul 1, 2017

Keywords: ; ; ; ; ;

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