UNU-MERIT Working Papers

We model knowledge diffusion in a population of agents situated on a
network, interacting only over direct ties. Some agents are by nature
traders, others are by nature "givers": traders demand a quid pro quo
for information transfer; givers do not. We are interested in efficiency
of diffusion and explore the interplay between the structure of the
population (proportion of traders), the network structure (clustering,
path length and degree distribution), and the scarcity of knowledge. We
find that at the global level, trading (as opposed to giving) reduces
efficiency. At the individual level, highly connected agents do well
when knowledge is scarce, agents in clustered neighbourhoods do well
when it is abundant. The latter finding is connected to the debate on
structural holes and social capital.

UNU-MERIT Working Papers
ISSN 1871-9872