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Tiebout Meets Schelling Online: Sorting in Cybercommunities

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  • John Lynham
  • Philip R Neary

Abstract

This paper proposes a stylised model to address the issue of online sorting. There are two large homogeneous groups of individuals. Everyone must choose between two online platforms, one of which has superior amenities. Each individual enjoys interacting online with those from their own group but dislikes being on the same platform as those in the other group. Unlike a Tiebout model of residential sorting, both platforms have unlimited capacity so at any moment anyone is free to switch. We find that an online platform is tipped from integrated to segregated by a combination of the current Schelling ratio and the absolute numbers of each group on each platform. That is, it is tipping sets and not tipping points that matter. In certain cases, the flight of one group from a platform can be triggered by a change in the group ratio in favor of those in the group that leave. If online integration of the two communities is the desired outcome then the optimal policy is clear: make the preferred platform even more desirable; revitalizing the inferior platform will never lead to integration. Finally, integration is more elastic in response to changes in neighborhood characteristics than to reductions in intolerance.

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  • John Lynham & Philip R Neary, 2021. "Tiebout Meets Schelling Online: Sorting in Cybercommunities," Papers 2110.05608, arXiv.org, revised Jun 2023.
    • Handle: RePEc:arx:papers:2110.05608
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