Abstract
Although economists have sought to link the health behaviours or outcomes of socially connected individuals for several decades, there has been a recent resurgence in interest and expansion in empirical techniques. Studies that attempt to estimate social network effects in health decisions face several difficult econometric and measurement issues, including how to define the relevant social network of interest, the endogeneity of social ties, and unobserved shared environmental variables. This article reviews recent literature in this area with a focus on current debates and potentially useful future directions.
This chapter was originally published in The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, Online edition, 2010. Edited by Palgrave Macmillan
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Bibliography
Bramoullé, Y., and B. Fortin. Forthcoming. The econometrics of social networks. In New palgrave dictionary of economics, eds. S.N. Durlauf and L.E. Blume. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Bramoullé, Y., H. Djebbari, and B. Fortin. 2009. Identification of peer effects through social networks. Journal of Econometrics 150(1): 41–55.
Brock, W.A., and S. Durlauf. 2008. Adoption curves and social interactions. NBER working paper 15065.
Burke, M.A. 2008. Social multipliers. In The new palgrave dictionary of economics, 2nd ed, ed. S.N. Durlauf and L.E. Blume. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Calvó-Armengol, A., E. Patacchini, and Y. Zenou. 2009. Peer effects and social networks in education. Review of Economic Studies 76(4): 1239–1267.
Christakis, N.A., and J.H. Fowler. 2007. The spread of obesity in a large social network over 32 years. New England Journal of Medicine 357(4): 370–379.
Clark, A.E., and Y. Loheac. 2007. ‘It wasn’t me, it was them!’ Social influence in risky behavior by adolescents. Journal of Health Economics 26(4): 763–784.
Cohen-Cole, E., and J.M. Fletcher. 2008a. Is obesity contagious? Social networks vs. Environmental factors in the obesity epidemic. Journal of Health Economics 27(5): 1382–1387.
Cohen-Cole, E., and J.M. Fletcher. 2008b. Detecting implausible social network effects in acne, height, and headaches: Longitudinal analysis. British Medical Journal 337: a2533.
Cohen-Cole, E., and J.M. Fletcher. 2008c. Estimating peer effects in health outcomes: Replies and corrections to Fowler and Christakis. SSRN working paper.
de Paula, A. 2009. Inference in a synchronization game with social interactions. Journal of Econometrics 148(1): 56–71.
de Paula, A., and B. Honore. 2010. Interdependent durations. Review of Economic Studies 77(3): 1138–1163.
Eagle, N., A. Pentland, and D. Lazer. 2009. Inferring friendship network structure by using mobile phone data. PNAS 106(36): 15274–15278.
Fletcher, J.M., and S.L. Ross. 2009. Friendship networks and adolescent health behaviors. Yale University working paper.
Fowler, J.H., and N.A. Christakis. 2008. Estimating peer effects on health in social networks: A response to Cohen-Cole and Fletcher; and Trogdon, Nonnemaker, and Pais. Journal of Health Economics 27: 1400–1405.
Ioannides, Y.M. 2008. Social interactions (empirics). In The new palgrave dictionary of economics, 2nd ed, ed. S.N. Durlauf and L.E. Blume. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Kremer, M., and D. Levy. 2008. Peer effects and alcohol use among college students. Journal of Economic Perspectives 22(3): 189–206.
Manski, C.F. 1993. Identification of endogenous social effects: The reflection problem. Review of Economic Studies 60(3): 531–542.
Mayer, A., and S. Puller. 2008. The old boy (and girl) network: Social network Formation on university campuses. Journal of Public Economics 92: 329–347.
Rao, N., M. Mobius, and T. Rosenblat. 2007. Social networks and vaccination decisions. FRB of Boston working paper no. 07–12.
Sacerdote, B. 2001. Peer effects with random assignment: Results for dartmouth roommates. Quarterly Journal of Economics 116(2): 681–704.
Trogdon, J., J. Nonnemaker, and J. Pais. 2008. Peer effects in adolescent overweight. Journal of Health Economics 27(5): 1388–1399.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2010 The Author(s)
About this entry
Cite this entry
Fletcher, J.M. (2010). Social Networks and Health Outcomes. In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_2926-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_2926-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-95121-5
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Economics and FinanceReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences