Social economics is the study, with the methods of economics, of social phenomena in which aggregates affect individual choices.1 Such phenomena include, just to mention a few, social norms and conventions, cultural identities and stereotypes, peer and neighbor- hood effects. A central underpinning of the methods of economics is methodological individualism. In particular, explanations based s…
In this chapter I provide an overview of research on social networks and their role in shaping behavior and economic outcomes. I include discussion of empirical and theoretical analyses of the role of social networks in markets and exchange, learning and diffusion, and network games. I also include some background on social network characteristics and measurements, models of network formation,…