Robust Social Decisions

Robust Social Decisions

Robust Decisions for Incomplete Structural Models of Social Interactions

Abstract. We propose Monte Carlo Markov Chain (MCMC) methods for estimation and inference in incomplete game-theoretic models with a particular focus on settings in which only a small number of observations for a given type of game is available. In particular we do not assume that it is possible to concentrate out or estimate consistently an equilibrium selection mechanism linking a parametric ...

Social networks and vaccination decisions

Social Preferences in Private Decisions

Social preference models were originally constructed to explain two things: why people spend money to affect the earnings of others and why the income of others influences reported happiness. We test these models in a novel experimental situation where participants face a risky decision that affects only their own earnings. In the social (individual) treatment participants do (not) observe the ...

Social Networks and Vaccination Decisions

We combine survey responses, network data, and medical records in order to examine how friends affect the decision to get vaccinated against influenza. The random assignment of undergraduates to residential halls at a large private university generates exogenous variation in exposure to the vaccine, enabling us to credibly identify social effects. We find evidence of positive peer influences on...