35: Conformity and Influence

Author(s): David Goldbaum, Economics Discipline Group, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia

Date of publication:  March 2016 

Working paper number: 35

Abstract: To better understand trends, this paper models the behavior of decision-makers seeking
conformity and in uence in a connected population. Link formation is one-sided with information
owing from the target to the link's originator. A premium for leading ensures that
a link's target bene ts more from the link than its originator, and yet a leader serves the
population by coordinating decisions. The desire for conformity drives the population to
organize into a single hub with the leader at the center. Certain conditions support multiple
leader structures as Nash as well. A strong desire to in uence produces an equilibrium with
an unlinked subpopulation

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UTS acknowledges the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the Boorooberongal people of the Dharug Nation, the Bidiagal people and the Gamaygal people, upon whose ancestral lands our university stands. We would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present, acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these lands.