Online Social Network Effects in Labor Markets: Evidence from Facebook's Entry to College Campuses

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Armona, Luis
• 署名单位: Harvard University; National Bureau of Economic Research
• 刊物名称: REVIEW OF ECONOMICS AND STATISTICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0034-6535
• DOI: 10.1162/rest_a_01354
• 发表日期: 2025-07
• 页码: 873-888
• 关键词: job match; old boy; EMPLOYMENT; education; strength; TIES

摘要

Using quasi-random variation from Facebook's entry to college campuses, I exploit a natural experiment to estimate the effect of online social network access on future earnings. I estimate that access to Face-book for an additional year in college causes a .62 percentile increase in a cohort's average earnings, translating to an average wage increase of around $970 in 2014, and decreases income inequality within a cohort. I provide indirect evidence that wage increases come through the channel of increased social ties with college alumni, strengthened employment networks, and increased match value between students' majors and later occupations.