How Homophily Affects the Speed of Learning and Best-Response Dynamics
研究了同质性（人们倾向于与相似特质的人交往）如何减缓学习与最佳反应过程的收敛速度，并提出了一个基于群体间互动频率的新同质性度量方法。
Abstract We examine how the speed of learning and best-response processes depends on homophily: the tendency of agents to associate disproportionately with those having similar traits. When agents' beliefs or behaviors are developed by averaging what they see among their neighbors, then convergence to a consensus is slowed by the presence of homophily but is not influenced by network density (in contrast to other network processes that depend on shortest paths). In deriving these results, we propose a new, general measure of homophily based on the relative frequencies of interactions among different groups. An application to communication in a society before a vote shows how the time it takes for the vote to correctly aggregate information depends on the homophily and the initial information distribution.