Social Interactions (Empirics)

The empirical economics literature on social interactions addresses the significance of the social context in economic decisions. Decisions of individuals who share a social milieu are likely to be interdependent. Recognizing the nature of such interdependence in a variety of conventional and unconventional settings and measuring empirically the role of social interactions poses complex econometric questions. Their resolution may be critical for a multitude of phenomena in economic and social life and of matters of public policy. Questions like why some countries are Catholic and others Protestant, why crime rates vary so much across cities in the same country, why fads exist and survive, and why there is residential segregation and neighbourhood tipping are all in principle issues that may be examined as social interactions phenomena.