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Social Status in Networks

Author

Listed:
  • Nicole Immorlica
  • Rachel Kranton
  • Mihai Manea
  • Greg Stoddard

Abstract

We study social comparisons and status seeking in an interconnected society. Individuals take costly actions that have direct benefits and also confer social status. A new measure of interconnectedness--cohesion--captures the intensity of incentives for seeking status. Equilibria stratify players into social classes, with each class's action pinned down by cohesion. A network decomposition algorithm characterizes the highest (and most inefficient) equilibrium. Members of the largest maximally cohesive set form the highest class. Alternatively, players not belonging to sets more cohesive than the set of all nodes constitute the lowest class. Intermediate classes are identified by iterating a cohesion operator. We also characterize networks that accommodate multiple-class equilibria.

Suggested Citation

  • Nicole Immorlica & Rachel Kranton & Mihai Manea & Greg Stoddard, 2017. "Social Status in Networks," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 9(1), pages 1-30, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aejmic:v:9:y:2017:i:1:p:1-30
    Note: DOI: 10.1257/mic.20160082
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D11 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Theory
    • D85 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Network Formation
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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