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Privacy, Trust and Social Network Formation

Author

Listed:
  • Alexia Gaudeul

    (Department of Economics, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen)

  • Caterina Giannetti

    (Jena Graduate School Human Behaviour in Social and Economic Change)

Abstract

We study in the laboratory the impact of private information revelation on the selection of partners when forming individual networks. Our experiment combines a "network game" and a "public-good game". In the network game, individuals decide with whom to form a link with, while in the public-good game they decide whether or not to contribute. The variations in our treatments allow us to identify the effect of revealing one's name on the probability of link formation. Our main result suggests that privacy mechanisms affect partner selection and the consequent structure of the network: when individuals reveal their real name, their individual networks are smaller but their profits are higher. This indicates that the privacy costs of revealing personal information are compensated by more productive links.

Suggested Citation

  • Alexia Gaudeul & Caterina Giannetti, 2015. "Privacy, Trust and Social Network Formation," Jena Economics Research Papers 2015-023, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.
    • Handle: RePEc:jrp:jrpwrp:2015-023
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • D85 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Network Formation

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