Matching and Network Effects

Marcel Fafchamps, Sanjeev Goyal and Marco van der Leij

Journal of the European Economic Association, 2010, vol. 8, issue 1, 203-231

Abstract: The matching of individuals in teams is a key element in the functioning of an economy. The network of social ties can potentially transmit important information on abilities and reputations and also help mitigate matching frictions by facilitating interactions among "screened" individuals. We conjecture that the probability of two individuals forming a team falls in the distance between the two individuals in the network of existing social ties. The objective of this paper is to empirically test this conjecture. We examine the formation of coauthor relations among economists over a twenty-year period. Our principal finding is that a new collaboration emerges faster among two researchers if they are "closer" in the existing coauthor network among economists. This proximity effect on collaboration is strong: Being at a network distance of 2 instead of 3, for instance, raises the probability of initiating a collaboration by 27%. (JEL: C78, D83, D85) (c) 2010 by the European Economic Association.

JEL-codes: C78 D83 D85 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (89)

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Working Paper: Matching and network effects (2009)
Working Paper: Matching and Network Effects (2006)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:tpr:jeurec:v:8:y:2010:i:1:p:203-231

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