Kevin Dano, Bryan S. Graham, Yassine Sbai Sassi
arXiv 12 Sep 2026 · Econometrics
arXiv:2609.14049 · PDF · Extracted main text
In social and economic networks linked agents often share connections in common. There are two competing explanations for this phenomenon. First, agents may have a structural taste for transitive links - the returns to linking may be higher if two agents share a common connection. Second, agents may assortatively match on unobserved attributes, a process called homophily. We study parameter identifiability in a simple model of dynamic network formation with both effects. Agents form, maintain, and dissolve links over time to maximize utility. The return to linking may be higher if agents share connections in common. A pair-specific utility component allows for arbitrary homophily on time-invariant agent attributes. We derive conditions under which it is possible to detect the presence of a taste for transitivity in the presence of assortative matching on unobservables. We leave the joint distribution of the initial network and the pair-specific utility component, both high dimensional nuisance parameters, unrestricted. Our identification result is constructive, suggesting an analog estimator, whose finite and (single) large network properties we characterize. We show, via examples, the delicacy of information accumulation in the single (large) network setting.
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The works this paper leans on most, across its whole bibliography — not restricted to papers in our corpus. Ranked by composite intensity, which combines how often a work is mentioned, how many sections mention it, and how much of that falls in the main text rather than the appendix.
| Reference | Intensity | Mentions | Sections | Main text | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pelican, Andrin and Graham, Bryan S (2026) An optimal test for strategic interaction in network formation games self | 1.000 | 7 | 4 | 100% |
| 2 | Ductor, Lorenzo and Fafchamps, Marcel and Goyal, Sanjeev and van der… (2014) Social Networks and Research Output | 0.928 | 4 | 3 | 100% |
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| 6 | Honoré, Bo E. and Kyriazidou, Ekaterini (2000) Panel data discrete choice models with lagged dependent variables | 0.843 | 4 | 3 | 75% |
| 7 | Graham, Bryan S (2020) Handbook of Econometrics self | 0.843 | 3 | 3 | 100% |
| 8 | Heckman, James. J (1978) Simple statistical models for discrete panel data developed and applied to test the hypothesis of true state dependence against… | 0.737 | 3 | 2 | 100% |
| 9 | Andersen, Erling Bernhard (1970) Asymptotic properties of conditional maximum-likelihood estimators | 0.644 | 2 | 2 | 100% |
| 10 | Fisher, R. A (1922) On the interpretation of $ ^2$ from contingency tables, and the calculation of P | 0.644 | 2 | 2 | 100% |
Showing the top 10 of 44 scored citations.