Article history: Received 3 March 2010 Available online 3 November 2010 JEL classification: L22 L51 O31 O38

This paper provides a systematic analysis of identification in linear social interactions models. This is both a theoretical and an econometric exercise as the analysis is linked to a rigorously delineated model of interdependent decisions. We develop an incomplete information game that describes individual choices in the presence of social interactions. The equilibrium strategy profiles are li...

This paper presents on overview of the economics that lies behind social interaction models and briefly discusses the empirical approaches to social interactions. We present a simple model with local interactions, similar to Glaeser, Sacerdote and Scheinkman (1996) but using a continuous action space and starting with optimizing behavior. We then extend the model to include both global and loca...

This paper addresses the problem of enabling non-scripted social interaction with virtual characters, and of authoring the underlying behavior in reusable form. We hypothesize that social behavior can be decomposed into social games, which are collections of affordances surrounding social state, and claim that non-scripted player interactions can be generated by the execution of social games in...

The ability to predict social interactions between people has profound applications including targeted marketing and prediction of information diffusion and disease propagation. Previous work has shown that the location of an individual at any given time is highly predictable. This study examines the predictability of social interactions between people to determine whether interaction patterns ...

In these notes I define and explore some implications of complementarities between choices and complementarities between characteristics for a group of individuals. Complementarity is a fundamental concept in the social interactions literature because it characterizes how the attributes of one individual affect others. An important distinction will turn out to involve the way that one person is...

Empirical studies of social interactions address a multitude of definitional, econometric and measurement issues associated with role of interpersonal and social group influences in economic decisions. Applications range from studies of crime patterns, neighborhood influences on upbringing and conformist behavior, mutual influences among classmates and keeping up with roommates in colleges rega...

While interest in social determinants of individual behavior has led to a rich theoretical literature and many efforts to measure these influences, a mature “social econometrics” has yet to emerge. This chapter provides a critical overview of the identification of social interactions. We consider linear and discrete choice models as well as social networks structures. We also consider experimen...