Calendrier du 04 octobre 2017
Development Economics Seminar
Du 04/10/2017 de 16:30 à 18:00
DUFLO Esther (MIT)
USING GOSSIPS TO SPREAD INFORMATION: THEORY AND EVIDENCE FROM A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL
écrit avec with Abhijit Banerjee, Arun G. Chandrasekhar and Matthew O. Jackson
Abstract. Is it possible to identify individuals who are highly central in a community
without gathering any network information, simply by asking a few people?
If we use people’s nominees as seeds for a diffusion process, will it be successful?
We explore these questions theoretically, via surveys, and via field experiments. We
show via a model of information flow how members of a community can, just by
tracking gossip about others, identify highly central individuals in their network.
Asking villagers in rural Indian villages to name good seeds for diffusion, we find
that they accurately nominate those who are central according to a measure tailored
for diffusion – not just those with many friends or in powerful positions. Finally, we
run a randomized field experiment in 213 other villages that tests how effective it is
to use such nominations as seeds for a diffusion process. Relative to random seeds
or those with high social status, hitting at least one seed nominated by villagers
leads to more than a 65% increase in the spread of information.
JEL Classification Codes: D85, D13, L14, O12, Z13
Keywords: Centrality, Gossip, Networks, Diffusion, Influence, Social Learning
Economic History Seminar
Du 04/10/2017 de 12:30 à 14:00
Salle R2-20, Campus Jourdan, 48 boulevard Jourdan, 75014 Paris
CHRISTIN Olivier (CEDRE)
Les vrais actionnaires de l'entreprise sociale (Sieyes) : compagnies par actions et théorie de la représentation à l'époque moderne