This is a recommended list for further reading in addition to the assigned readings which may be useful to interested students. Other resources not linked to a specific session are listed below the table.
| Ses # | Topic | Readings |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction to Social, Economic, and Technological Networks |
Gladwell, Malcolm. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. Back Bay Books, 2002. ISBN: 9780316346627. Chapters 1–2. Barabasi, Albert-Laszlo. Linked: How Everything Is Linked to Everything Else and What It Means for Business, Science and Everyday Life. Penguin Books, 2014. ISBN: 9780465085736. Chapters 1–4. |
| 2–3 | Network Representations, Measures, and Metrics | |
| 4–6 | Linear Dynamical Systems, Markov Chains, and Centralities | |
| 7 | Dynamics Over Graph: Spread of Information and Distributed Computation |
Barabasi, Albert-Laszlo. Linked: How Everything Is Linked to Everything Else and What It Means for Business, Science and Everyday Life. Penguin Books, 2014. ISBN: 9780465085736. Chapters 5–7. Gladwell, Malcolm. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. Back Bay Books, 2002. ISBN: 9780316346627. Chapter 6. |
| 8 | Graph Decomposition and Cluttering | |
| 9–11 | Random Graph Models | |
| 12 | Generative Graph Models | |
| 13–14 | Introduction to Game Theory | |
| 15 | Traffic Flow and Congestion Games | |
| 16 | Network Effects (I) |
Schelling, Thomas. Micromotives and Macrobehavior. WW Norton & Co., 2006. Chapter 1. ISBN: 9780393329469. Surowiecki, James. The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Sharpens Business, Economies, Societies, and Nations. Anchor, 2005. ISBN: 9780385721707. Chapter 7. |
| 17 | Network Effects (II) |
Bramoullé, Yann, Rachel Kranton, and Martin D’Amours. “Strategic Interaction and Networks.” American Economic Review, 104 (2014): 898-930. Ballester, Coralio, Antoni Calvó-Armengol, and Yves Zenou. “Who’s Who in Networks. Wanted: The Key Player (PDF).” 2005. Candogan, Ozan, Kostas Bimpikis, and Asuman Ozdaglar. “Optimal Pricing in Networks with Externalities (PDF).” Operations Research 60, no. 4 (2012): 883–905. Goyal, Sanjeev. Connections: An Introduction to the Economics of Networks. Princeton University Press, 2009. ISBN: 9780691141183. Chapter 3. |
| 18 | Networked Markets |
Mihai, Manea. “Bargaining in Stationary Networks.” American Economic Review 101 (2011): 2042–2080. Acemoglu, Daron, Vasco Carvalho, et al. “The Network Origins of Aggregate Fluctuations.” Econometrica 80, no. 5 (2012): 1977–2016. Parker, Gregory, Marshall Van Alstyne, and Sangeet Choudary. Platform Revolution: How Networked Markets are Transforming the Economy and How to Make Them Work for You. W. W. Norton & Company, 2016. ISBN: 9780393354355. Evans, David and Richard Schmalensee. The Matchmakers: The New Economics of Multisided Platforms Harvard Business Review Press, 2016. ISBN: 9781633691728. |
| 19 | Repeated Games, Cooperation, and Strategic Network Formation | Goyal, Sanjeev. Connections: An Introduction to the Economics of Networks. Princeton University Press, 2009. ISBN: 9780691141183. Chapters 7–10. |
| 20–21 | Diffusion Models and Contagion |
Gladwell, Malcolm. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. Back Bay Books, 2002. ISBN: 9780316346627. Chapters 3 and 6. Barabasi, Albert-Laszlo. Linked: How Everything Is Linked to Everything Else and What It Means for Business, Science and Everyday Life. Penguin Books, 2014. ISBN: 9780465085736. Chapter 10. |
| 22–24 | Games with Incomplete Information and Introduction to Social Learning, Herding, and Informational Cascades |
Golub, Ben, and Evan Sadler. “Learning in Social Networks.” In The Oxford Handbook of the Economics of Networks. Oxford University Press, 2016. Acemoglu, Daron, Munther Dahleh, et al. “Bayesian Learning in Social Networks.” Review of Economic Studies 78 (2011): 1201–1236. Golub, Benjamin and Matthew Jackson. “Naïve Learning in Social Networks and the Wisdom of Crowds.” Microeconomics 2, no. 1 (2010): 112–149. Goyal, Sanjeev. Connections: An Introduction to the Economics of Networks. Princeton University Press, 2009. ISBN: 9780691141183. Chapter 5. Surowiecki, James. The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Sharpens Business, Economies, Societies, and Nations. Anchor, 2005. ISBN: 9780385721707. Chapters 1–4. Gladwell, Malcolm. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Di erence. Back Bay Books, 2002. ISBN: 9780316346627. Chapter 2. Barabasi, Albert-Laszlo. Linked: How Everything Is Linked to Everything Else and What It Means for Business, Science and Everyday Life. Penguin Books, 2014. ISBN: 9780465085736. Chapter 10. |
| 25 | Project Presentations |
Two more textbooks that cover a lot of material in network economics are:
- Jackson, Matthew. Social and Economic Networks. Princeton University Press, 2010. ISBN: 9780691148205.
- Goyal, Sanjeev. Connections: An Introduction to the Economics of Networks. Princeton University Press, 2009. ISBN: 9780691141183.
and are useful references both for substantive and technical material.
Another great recent textbook in network science is (called unsurprisingly):
- Barabasi, Albert-Laszlo. Network Science. Cambridge University Press, 2016. ISBN: 9781107076266.
If you’re looking for research project ideas, this Handbook summarizes the current frontier of research in network economics:
- Bramoulle, Yann, Andrea Galeotti, and Brian Rogers (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of the Economics of Networks. Oxford University Press, 2016. ISBN: 9780199948277.
The analysis of economic and social networks heavily relies on game theory. Of course, the course does not presume any game theoretic background, though some of the students will have taken 14.12 Economic Applications of Game Theory or may be cross-registered at the same time as this course. We will cover all of the game theory that you need as we go along. Two books that are excellent references are:
- Osborne, Martin. Introduction to Game Theory. Oxford University Press, 2003. ISBN: 9780195128956.
- Gibbons, Robert. Game Theory for Applied Economists. Princeton University Press, 1992. ISBN: 9780691003955.
In addition, we will refer to a variety of other books that are non-technical. These will be particularly useful in providing you with context and possible real-world applications. Here are accessible books by scientists about their research in networks:
- Barabasi, Albert-Laszlo. Linked: How Everything Is Linked to Everything Else and What It Means for Business, Science and Everyday Life. Penguin Books, 2014. ISBN: 9780465085736.
- Pentland, Alex. Social Physics: How Social Networks Can Make Us Smarter. Penguin Books, 2015. ISBN: 9780143126331.
- Christakis, Nicholas and James Fowler. Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives. Back Bay Books, 2011. ISBN: 9780316036139.
- Watts, Duncan. Everything Is Obvious: How Common Sense Fails Us. Crown Business, 2012. ISBN: 9780307951793.
- Schelling, Thomas. Micromotives and Macrobehavior. WW Norton & Co., 2006. ISBN: 9780393329469.
There are also popular books about networks by excellent journalists. Some of the material in these books is overblown, so be warned.
- Gladwell, Malcolm. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Di erence. Back Bay Books, 2002. ISBN: 9780316346627.
- Surowiecki, James. The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Sharpens Business, Economies, Societies, and Nations. Anchor, 2005. ISBN: 9780385721707.
Finally, we will also refer to the following books for basic background on Dynamic Systems and Markov chains:
- Luenberger, David. Introduction to Dynamic Systems: Theory, Models, and Applications. Wiley, 1979. ISBN: 9780471025948.
- Bertsekas, Dimitri and John Tsitsiklis. Introduction to Probability. Athena Scientic, 2008. ISBN: 9781886529236.
