Conviviality and networking

(aka: coordination, herding, information cascades, network effects, fashion goods)

3 Feb:
The first day, when nothing happens.

10 Feb:
Information cascades
¤ Banerjee, 92: "A simple model of herd behavior", Jstor, notes by Viplav Saini
¤ Bikhchandani, Hirshleifer, Welch, 92: "A Theory of Fads, Fashion, Custom, and Cultural Change as Informational Cascades", Jstor, notes by Kevin Thom

17 Feb:
Network effects
¤ Choi, 1997: "Herd Behavior, the 'Penguin Effect,' and the Suppression of Informational Diffusion: An Analysis of Informational Externalities and Payoff Interdependency" Jstor, notes by Dan Britton

24 Feb:
Jury theorems
¤ Feddersen & Pesendorfer 1998: Convicting the Innocent Jstor, notes by Viplav Saini
¤ Duggan & Martinelli 1998: "A Bayesian model of voting in juries", GEB PDF, notes by Kevin Thom
¤ A short lit review of jury papers by Dan Britton
¤ optional bonus paper: Austen-Smith and Banks, 1996: "Information Aggregation, Rationality, and the Condorcet Jury Theorem", Jstor

3 March:
U(t,k) models
¤ Brock & Durlauf 2001: "Discrete Choice with Social Interactions" Jstor, notes by Steffen Reinhold
¤ Me, 2003, "Preferences with a social component", PDF
(Perhaps a digression on leptokurtosis)

10 March:
The GSS model.
¤ Glaeser, Sacerdote, Scheinkman, 1996: "Crime and social interactions", Jstor

(Spring break)

¤ optional Spring paper: Pesendorfer, 1995: "Design Innovation and Fashion Cycles", Jstor

24 March:
Politics
¤ Schuessler 2000
¤ Callander, 2004: Bandwagons and Momentum in Sequential Voting, PDF, notes by Viplav Saini

29 March:
The transition week
¤ H Peyton Young, 1999: "Diffusion in Social Networks", PDF
¤ Young and Burke, 2001: "Competition and Custom in Economic Contracts", Jstor

7 April:
A week off.

14 April:
Networks
¤ Duncan Watts, 2003: Small Worlds. Notation sheet, a sort of overview

21 April:

¤ Matthew O Jackson, forthcoming: "A Survey of Models of Network Formation: Stability and Efficiency," netsurv.pdf

28 April:
Computer fun! The slides; the fun

5 May:
More computer fun! Or for more, check out some courses at George Mason