| By: |
Marcel Fafchamps (University of Oxford);
Marco van der Leij (Universidad de Alicante);
Sanjeev Goyal (Department of Economics, Queen Mary) |
| 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 i and j forming a team is falling in the
distance between i and j 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 percent. Research collaboration takes place
in an environment where fairly detailed information concerning individual
ability and productivity -reflected in publications, employment history, etc.-
is publicly available. Our finding that social networks are powerful even in
this setting suggests that they must affect matching processes more generally. |
| Keywords: |
coauthorship network, matching, network effects, network formation. |
| JEL: |
C78 D83 D85 |
| Date: |
2009–01 |
| URL: |
https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ivi:wpasad:2009-15 |