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SONIC: SOcial Network analysis with Influencers and Communities

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  • Chen, Cathy Yi-Hsuan
  • Härdle, Wolfgang Karl
  • Klochkov, Yegor

Abstract

The integration of social media characteristics into an econometric framework requires modeling a high dimensional dynamic network with dimensions of parameter typically much larger than the number of observations. To cope with this problem, we introduce SONIC, a new high-dimensional network model that assumes that (1) only few influencers drive the network dynamics; (2) the community structure of the network is characterized by homogeneity of response to specific influencers, implying their underlying similarity. An estimation procedure is proposed based on a greedy algorithm and LASSO regularization. Through theoretical study and simulations, we show that the matrix parameter can be estimated even when sample size is smaller than the size of the network. Using a novel dataset retrieved from one of leading social media platforms — StockTwits and quantifying their opinions via natural language processing, we model the opinions network dynamics among a select group of users and further detect the latent communities. With a sparsity regularization, we can identify important nodes in the network.

Suggested Citation

  • Chen, Cathy Yi-Hsuan & Härdle, Wolfgang Karl & Klochkov, Yegor, 2022. "SONIC: SOcial Network analysis with Influencers and Communities," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 228(2), pages 177-220.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:econom:v:228:y:2022:i:2:p:177-220
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jeconom.2021.02.008
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    JEL classification:

    • C1 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General
    • C22 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Time-Series Models; Dynamic Quantile Regressions; Dynamic Treatment Effect Models; Diffusion Processes
    • C51 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling - - - Model Construction and Estimation
    • G41 - Financial Economics - - Behavioral Finance - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making in Financial Markets

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