Review of 'social and economic networks'

Abstract

Social and economics networks have not only attracted substantial research but have also been the subject of popular books [Gladwell 2002; Barabasi 2003]. Networks are ubiquitous with the presence of different kinds of social, economic and information networks around us. The internet, a major source of source of commerce and information is one of the most prominent examples of a complex network. Complex networks have been examined by physicists, sociologists, economists, mathematicians and computer scientists with different perspectives. Social networks (which were initially researched by sociologists) have been given great importance in economics [Goyal 2007; Slikker and van den Nouweland 2001; Demange and Wooders 2005]. Moreover, network analysis [Wasserman et al. 1994] is attracting foundational research by computer scientists [Brandes and Erlebach 2005; Kleinberg 1999]. Diffusion of information, social influence, trust, communication and cooperation between agents are heavily researched topics in e-commerce and multiagent systems. All these topics are well covered in Social and Economic Networks. Jackson has already written some useful surveys on social and economic networks (see for instance [Jackson 2003; 2005]). This book is an ambitious effort to combine various perspectives in a single book.