The Economic Effects of Social Networks: Evidence from the Housing Market
结合Facebook社交数据和住房交易数据，发现地理上分散的朋友近期房价上涨越多，个人越可能从租房转向买房，且购买更大、更贵的房子，这源于社交互动对住房市场预期的影响。
We show how data from online social networking services can help researchers better understand the effects of social interactions on economic decision making. We combine anonymized data from Facebook, the largest online social network, with housing transaction data and explore both the structure and the effects of social networks. Individuals whose geographically distant friends experienced larger recent house price increases are more likely to transition from renting to owning. They also buy larger houses and pay more for a given house. Survey data show that these relationships are driven by the effects of social interactions on individuals' housing market expectations.