IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hal/journl/hal-05094051.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Dynamic opinion updating with endogenous networks

Author

Listed:
  • Ugo Bolletta

    (RITM - Réseaux Innovation Territoires et Mondialisation - Université Paris-Saclay, Université Paris-Saclay)

  • Paolo Pin

    (UNISI - Università degli Studi di Siena = University of Siena)

Abstract

Polarization is a well-documented phenomenon across a wide range of social issues. However, existing theories often treat the evolution of individual opinions and the formation of social networks as separate processes. In this study, we examine how individuals dynamically adjust their opinions while simultaneously forming and dissolving social connections, highlighting the interconnected nature of these behaviors. Our model is based on two key parameters: the direct benefit individuals receive from social connections and their willingness to adapt their opinions to align with their social circle. We identify conditions under which the network fails to achieve full connectivity, leading to persistent polarization of opinions. Additionally, our model demonstrates that polarization can temporarily increase during the transition to consensus, depending on the initial distribution of opinions and network structure. We explore the connection between these scenarios and a critical network metric: the initial diameter, under specific conditions related to the initial distribution of opinions.

Suggested Citation

  • Ugo Bolletta & Paolo Pin, 2025. "Dynamic opinion updating with endogenous networks," Post-Print hal-05094051, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05094051
    DOI: 10.1016/j.euroecorev.2025.105045
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    To our knowledge, this item is not available for download. To find whether it is available, there are three options:
    1. Check below whether another version of this item is available online.
    2. Check on the provider's web page whether it is in fact available.
    3. Perform a
    for a similarly titled item that would be available.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Esteban, Joan & Ray, Debraj, 1994. "On the Measurement of Polarization," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 62(4), pages 819-851, July.
    2. Jackson, Matthew O. & Wolinsky, Asher, 1996. "A Strategic Model of Social and Economic Networks," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 71(1), pages 44-74, October.
    3. Edoardo Gallo & Alastair Langtry, 2020. "Social networks, confirmation bias and shock elections," Papers 2011.00520, arXiv.org.
    4. , D. & Tessone, Claudio J. & ,, 2014. "Nestedness in networks: A theoretical model and some applications," Theoretical Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 9(3), September.
    5. Markus Kinateder & Luca Paolo Merlino, 2017. "Public Goods in Endogenous Networks," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 9(3), pages 187-212, August.
    6. Benjamin Golub & Matthew O. Jackson, 2012. "How Homophily Affects the Speed of Learning and Best-Response Dynamics," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 127(3), pages 1287-1338.
    7. Boucher, Vincent, 2016. "Conformism and self-selection in social networks," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 30-44.
    8. Rainer Hegselmann & Ulrich Krause, 2002. "Opinion Dynamics and Bounded Confidence Models, Analysis and Simulation," Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, vol. 5(3), pages 1-2.
    9. Benjamin Golub & Matthew O. Jackson, 2010. "Naïve Learning in Social Networks and the Wisdom of Crowds," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(1), pages 112-149, February.
    10. Gallo, E. & Langtry, A., 2020. "Social Networks, Confirmation Bias and Shock Elections," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 2099, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    11. Panebianco, Fabrizio, 2014. "Socialization networks and the transmission of interethnic attitudes," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 583-610.
    12. Peter M. DeMarzo & Dimitri Vayanos & Jeffrey Zwiebel, 2003. "Persuasion Bias, Social Influence, and Unidimensional Opinions," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(3), pages 909-968.
    13. Garance Genicot, 2022. "Tolerance and Compromise in Social Networks," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 130(1), pages 94-120.
    14. Prummer, Anja & Siedlarek, Jan-Peter, 2017. "Community leaders and the preservation of cultural traits," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 143-176.
    15. Akerlof, George A & Dickens, William T, 1982. "The Economic Consequences of Cognitive Dissonance," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 72(3), pages 307-319, June.
    16. Hunt Allcott & Luca Braghieri & Sarah Eichmeyer & Matthew Gentzkow, 2020. "The Welfare Effects of Social Media," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 110(3), pages 629-676, March.
    17. Anufriev, Mikhail & Borissov, Kirill & Pakhnin, Mikhail, 2023. "Dissonance minimization and conversation in social networks," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 215(C), pages 167-191.
    18. Anton Badev, 2021. "Nash Equilibria on (Un)Stable Networks," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 89(3), pages 1179-1206, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. de Vos, Wout & Grabisch, Michel & Rusinowska, Agnieszka, 2025. "When Social Networks Polarize : On the Number of Clusters in the Hegselmann-Krause Model," Other publications TiSEM 2db67b0b-ba8b-46e8-85af-1, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.

    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. Zenou, Yves & Olcina, Gonzalo & Panebianco, Fabrizio, 2017. "Conformism, Social Norms and the Dynamics of Assimilation," CEPR Discussion Papers 12166, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    2. Olcina, Gonzalo & Panebianco, Fabrizio & Zenou, Yves, 2024. "Conformism, social pressure, and the dynamics of integration," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 220(C), pages 279-304.
    3. Bolletta, Ugo, 2021. "A model of peer effects in school," Mathematical Social Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 1-10.
    4. Margherita Comola & Agnieszka Rusinowska & Marie Claire Villeval, 2024. "Competing for Influence in Networks Through Strategic Targeting [En compétition pour l'influence dans les réseaux grâce au ciblage stratégique]," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-04706311, HAL.
    5. Eger, Steffen, 2016. "Opinion dynamics and wisdom under out-group discrimination," Mathematical Social Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 97-107.
    6. Anufriev, Mikhail & Borissov, Kirill & Pakhnin, Mikhail, 2023. "Dissonance minimization and conversation in social networks," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 215(C), pages 167-191.
    7. Fernandes, Marcos R., 2023. "Confirmation bias in social networks," Mathematical Social Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 59-76.
    8. Christos Mavridis & Nikolas Tsakas, 2021. "Social Capital, Communication Channels and Opinion Formation," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 56(4), pages 635-678, May.
    9. Matthew O. Jackson & Brian W. Rogers & Yves Zenou, 2016. "Networks: An Economic Perspective," Papers 1608.07901, arXiv.org.
    10. Ushchev, Philip & Zenou, Yves, 2020. "Social norms in networks," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    11. Jackson, Matthew O. & Zenou, Yves, 2015. "Games on Networks," Handbook of Game Theory with Economic Applications,, Elsevier.
    12. Della Lena, Sebastiano, 2024. "The spread of misinformation in networks with individual and social learning," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    13. Foerster, Manuel, 2018. "Finite languages, persuasion bias, and opinion fluctuations," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 46-57.
    14. Sebastiano Della Lena & Pietro Dindo, 2019. "On the Evolution of Norms in Strategic Environments," Working Papers 2019: 16, Department of Economics, University of Venice "Ca' Foscari".
    15. Hai-Bo Hu & Cang-Hai Li & Qing-Ying Miao, 2017. "Opinion Diffusion On Multilayer Social Networks," Advances in Complex Systems (ACS), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 20(06n07), pages 1-25, September.
    16. Patrick Allmis & Luca Paolo Merlino, 2023. "Homophily and Specialization in Networks," Papers 2312.00457, arXiv.org.
    17. Buechel, Berno & Klößner, Stefan & Meng, Fanyuan & Nassar, Anis, 2023. "Misinformation due to asymmetric information sharing," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    18. Levy, Gilat & Razin, Ronny, 2018. "Information diffusion in networks with the Bayesian Peer Influence heuristic," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 262-270.
    19. Arifovic, Jasmina & Eaton, B. Curtis & Walker, Graeme, 2015. "The coevolution of beliefs and networks," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 46-63.
    20. Grigis, Federico & Ortobelli Lozza, Sergio & Vitali, Sebastiano, 2025. "Computing agents' reputation within a network," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 312-333.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • D85 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Network Formation
    • Z1 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics

    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:hal:journl:hal-05094051. 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: CCSD (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/ .

    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.