We describe behavioral experiments based on the model of networked competitive contagion developed by Goyal and Kearns in [2012], which built upon the work of [Bharathi et al. 2007; Borodin et al. 2010; Chasparis and Shamma 2010]. In this model, there are two distinct “infections” competing for maximum spread through a social network. For instance, these infections might represent the products ...

Over the past 30 years, mathematical models of the spread of epidemics and the dynamics of societal cooperation have gradually incorporated more and more information about social network structures. This information is important not just to improve the accuracy of models, but also to improve their qualitative behavior and provide an ever deeper understanding of the spread of diseases and the wa...

Aggregated phenomena in social sciences and economics are highly dependent on the way individuals interact. To help understanding the interplay between socio-economic activities and underlying social networks, this paper studies a sequential prisoner’s dilemma with binary choice. It proposes an analytical and computational insight about the role of endogenous networks in emergence and sustainab...

This paper analyzes individual decisions to participate in an activity and the aggregation of those decisions when individuals gather information about the outcomes and choices of (a few) others in their social network. In this environment, aggregate participation rates are generally inefficient. Increasing the size of social networks does not necessarily increase efficiency and can lead to les...

Be honest. Deep down, most mathematicians probably accept “mathematical social sciences” as an oxymoron. I did — until after examining this area more seriously. Comfortable in my own research emphasizing the Newtonian N -body problem, I probably would respond to news that someone was working in, say, mathematical economics with a polite, “That’s nice,” where this noncommittal comment carried th...

Agents that interact in complex social situations need to take the social context in consideration in order to perform believably. We argue that social identity is an important factor; therefore, agents should incorporate social identity theory in their behaviour, which implies the ability to categorize others (and themselves) into social groups. In addition, social situations often present soc...

Models of voter choice frequently assume voters behave as independent actors who make decisions in a social vacuum. Recent work has demonstrated that social connections play a formative role in the decision to turnout to vote, to take expressive political action, and in the formation of political identity. Yet, no work has examined how social connections influence voters’ choices in an election...

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...

I consider the saving and investment decisions of American and Italian consumers in a lifecycle model with temptation preferences. Comparing the choices with and without Social Security protection, I show that savings are postponed, less wealth is accumulated, and the portfolio share held in equities at retirement is larger with Social Security. Social Security distorts the decisions of agents ...