IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/gamebe/v141y2023icp380-402.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Targeting in social networks with anonymized information

Author

Listed:
  • Bloch, Francis
  • Shabayek, Shaden

Abstract

This paper studies optimal targeting when the planner knows the architecture of the network but not the identities of agents occupying different positions in the network. We show that the planner's ability to discriminate among agents depends on the balance between in- and out-neighborhoods in the social network. When influence is reciprocal, the knowledge of the network architecture is sufficient for the planner to implement the first-best actions. When in- and out-neighborhoods are imbalanced, pairs of players have an incentive to jointly misreport their identities. This situation arises when one agent influences all other agents, or when one agent is being influenced by all other agents. It also arises in hierarchical structures with nested neighborhoods where agents at lower tiers of the network are influenced by the same agents as agents at upper tiers who influence them.

Suggested Citation

  • Bloch, Francis & Shabayek, Shaden, 2023. "Targeting in social networks with anonymized information," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 380-402.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:gamebe:v:141:y:2023:i:c:p:380-402
    DOI: 10.1016/j.geb.2023.06.010
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0899825623000921
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.geb.2023.06.010?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yang Zhang & Ying-Ju Chen, 2020. "Optimal Nonlinear Pricing in Social Networks Under Asymmetric Network Information," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 68(3), pages 818-833, May.
    2. Belhaj, Mohamed & Bervoets, Sebastian & Deroïan, Frédéric, 2016. "Efficient networks in games with local complementarities," Theoretical Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 11(1), January.
    3. Coralio Ballester & Antoni Calvó-Armengol & Yves Zenou, 2006. "Who's Who in Networks. Wanted: The Key Player," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 74(5), pages 1403-1417, September.
    4. Mohamed Belhaj & Frédéric Deroïan & Shahir Safi, 2023. "Targeting in networks under costly agreements," Post-Print hal-04090079, HAL.
    5. Bloch, Francis & Quérou, Nicolas, 2013. "Pricing in social networks," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 243-261.
    6. Eric Maskin, 1999. "Nash Equilibrium and Welfare Optimality," Review of Economic Studies, Oxford University Press, vol. 66(1), pages 23-38.
    7. Ozan Candogan & Kostas Bimpikis & Asuman Ozdaglar, 2012. "Optimal Pricing in Networks with Externalities," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 60(4), pages 883-905, August.
    8. , D. & Tessone, Claudio J. & ,, 2014. "Nestedness in networks: A theoretical model and some applications," Theoretical Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 9(3), September.
    9. Demange, Gabrielle, 2017. "Optimal targeting strategies in a network under complementarities," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 84-103.
    10. Jadbabaie, Ali & Kakhbod, Ali, 2019. "Optimal contracting in networks," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 1094-1153.
    11. Francis Bloch, 2016. "Targeting and pricing in social networks," Post-Print hal-01309549, HAL.
    12. Belhaj, Mohamed & Deroïan, Frédéric & Safi, Shahir, 2023. "Targeting in networks under costly agreements," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 154-172.
    13. Belhaj, Mohamed & Deroïan, Frédéric, 2019. "Group targeting under networked synergies," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 29-46.
    14. Helsley, Robert W. & Zenou, Yves, 2014. "Social networks and interactions in cities," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 426-466.
    15. Andrea Galeotti & Benjamin Golub & Sanjeev Goyal, 2020. "Targeting Interventions in Networks," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 88(6), pages 2445-2471, November.
    16. Benjamin Marx & Thomas Stoker & Tavneet Suri, 2013. "The Economics of Slums in the Developing World," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 27(4), pages 187-210, Fall.
    17. Itay P. Fainmesser & Andrea Galeotti, 2016. "Pricing Network Effects," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 83(1), pages 165-198.
    18. Hiller, Timo, 2017. "Peer effects in endogenous networks," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 349-367.
    19. Leo Katz, 1953. "A new status index derived from sociometric analysis," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 18(1), pages 39-43, March.
    20. Cremer, Jacques & McLean, Richard P, 1988. "Full Extraction of the Surplus in Bayesian and Dominant Strategy Auctions," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 56(6), pages 1247-1257, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chen, Ying-Ju & Zenou, Yves & Zhou, Junjie, 2022. "The impact of network topology and market structure on pricing," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 204(C).
    2. Harkins, Andrew, 2020. "Network Comparative Statics," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1306, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    3. Francis Bloch & Shaden Shabayek, 2020. "Targeting in social networks with anonymized information," Papers 2001.03122, arXiv.org.
    4. Luca Colombo & Paola Labrecciosa & Agnieszka Rusinowska, 2022. "A Dynamic Analysis of Criminal Networks," Documents de travail du Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne 22006r, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1), Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne, revised Jun 2023.
    5. Harkins, Andrew, 2020. "Network Comparative Statics," CRETA Online Discussion Paper Series 64, Centre for Research in Economic Theory and its Applications CRETA.
    6. Yang Sun & Wei Zhao & Junjie Zhou, 2023. "Structural Interventions In Networks," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 64(4), pages 1533-1563, November.
    7. Yang Sun & Wei Zhao & Junjie Zhou, 2021. "Structural Interventions in Networks," Papers 2101.12420, arXiv.org, revised Feb 2021.
    8. Ryan Kor & Junjie Zhou, 2022. "Welfare and Distributional Effects of Joint Intervention in Networks," Papers 2206.03863, arXiv.org.
    9. Thomas J. Sargent & John Stachurski, 2022. "Economic Networks: Theory and Computation," Papers 2203.11972, arXiv.org, revised Jul 2022.
    10. Li, Jian & Zhou, Junjie & Chen, Ying-Ju, 2021. "The Limit of Targeting in Networks," ISU General Staff Papers 202112081957590000, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    11. Li, Jian & Zhou, Junjie & Chen, Ying-Ju, 2022. "The limit of targeting in networks," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 201(C).
    12. Zenou, Yves & Chen, Ying-Ju & Zhou, Junjie, 2020. "Network Topology and Market Structure," CEPR Discussion Papers 14495, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    13. Jadbabaie, Ali & Kakhbod, Ali, 2019. "Optimal contracting in networks," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 1094-1153.
    14. Ostrizek, Franz & Sartori, Elia, 2023. "Screening while controlling an externality," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 26-55.
    15. Belhaj, Mohamed & Deroïan, Frédéric & Safi, Shahir, 2023. "Targeting in networks under costly agreements," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 154-172.
    16. Jackson, Matthew O. & Zenou, Yves, 2015. "Games on Networks," Handbook of Game Theory with Economic Applications,, Elsevier.
    17. Nora, Vladyslav & Winter, Eyal, 2024. "Exploiting social influence in networks," Theoretical Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 19(1), January.
    18. Elias Carroni & Paolo Pin & Simone Righi, 2020. "Bring a Friend! Privately or Publicly?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 66(5), pages 2269-2290, May.
    19. Mohamed Belhaj & Frédéric Deroïan & Shahir Safi, 2020. "Costly agreement-based transfers and targeting on networks with synergies," Working Papers halshs-02558397, HAL.
    20. Panebianco, Fabrizio & Verdier, Thierry & Zenou, Yves, 2016. "Innovation, Pricing and Targeting in Networks," CEPR Discussion Papers 11398, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Social networks; Targeting; Privacy protection; Mechanism design;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D85 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Network Formation
    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design
    • D42 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Monopoly
    • L14 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Transactional Relationships; Contracts and Reputation

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:gamebe:v:141:y:2023:i:c:p:380-402. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/622836 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.