Germs, Social Networks, and Growth

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Fogli, Alessandra; Veldkamp, Laura
• 署名单位: Federal Reserve System - USA; Federal Reserve Bank - Minneapolis; Columbia University
• 刊物名称: REVIEW OF ECONOMIC STUDIES
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0034-6527
• DOI: 10.1093/restud/rdab008
• 发表日期: 2021
• 页码: 1074-1100
• 关键词: diffusion; culture; transmission; institutions; PREVALENCE; DYNAMICS; diseases; beliefs; regions; HEALTH

摘要

Does the pattern of social connections between individuals matter for macroeconomic outcomes? If so, where do differences in these patterns come from and how large are their effects? Using network analysis tools, we explore how different social network structures affect technology diffusion and thereby a country's rate of growth. The correlation between high-diffusion networks and income is strongly positive. But when we use a model to isolate the effect of a change in social networks on growth, the effect can be positive, negative, or zero. The reason is that networks diffuse both ideas and disease. Low-diffusion networks have evolved in countries where disease is prevalent because limited connectivity protects residents from epidemics. But a low-diffusion network in a low-disease environment compromises the diffusion of good ideas. In general, social networks have evolved to fit their economic and epidemiological environment. Trying to change networks in one country to mimic those in a higher-income country may well be counterproductive.