Evidence That Calls-Based and Mobility Networks Are Isomorphic

Michele Coscia () and Ricardo Hausmann
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Michele Coscia: Center for International Development at Harvard University

No 309, CID Working Papers from Center for International Development at Harvard University

Abstract: Social relations involve both face-to-face interaction as well as telecommunications. We can observe the geography of phone calls and of the mobility of cell phones in space. These two phenomena can be described as networks of connections between different points in space. We use a dataset that includes billions of phone calls made in Colombia during a six-month period. We draw the two networks and find that the call-based network resembles a higher order aggregation of the mobility network and that both are isomorphic except for a higher spatial decay coefficient of the mobility network relative to the call-based network: when we discount distance effects on the call connections with the same decay observed for mobility connections, the two networks are virtually indistinguishable.

Keywords: Colombia; South America; Economic Growth (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-net, nep-pay and nep-ure
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Evidence That Calls-Based and Mobility Networks Are Isomorphic (2015)
Working Paper: Evidence That Calls-Based and Mobility Networks Are Isomorphic (2015)
Working Paper: Evidence That Calls-Based and Mobility Networks Are Isomorphic (2015)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cid:wpfacu:309

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