INFORMATION ACQUISITION AND EXCHANGE IN SOCIAL NETWORKS

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Goyal, Sanjeev; Rosenkranz, Stephanie; Weitzel, Utz; Buskens, Vincent
• 署名单位: University of Cambridge; Utrecht University; Radboud University Nijmegen
• 刊物名称: ECONOMIC JOURNAL
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0013-0133
• DOI: 10.1111/ecoj.12395
• 发表日期: 2017
• 页码: 2302-2331
• 关键词: games

摘要

A central feature of social networks is information sharing. The Internet and related computing technologies shape the relative costs of private information acquisition and forming links with others. This article presents an experiment on the effects of changing costs. We find that a decline in relative costs of linking makes private investments more dispersed and gives rise to denser social networks. Aggregate investment falls but individuals' access to investment remains stable, due to increased networking. The overall effect is an increase in individual utility and aggregate welfare.