American Economic Review
ISSN 0002-8282 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7981 (Online)
Just a Few Seeds More: The Value of Network Data for Diffusion
American Economic Review
(pp. 3713–48)
Abstract
Identifying the optimal set of individuals to first receive information ("seeds") in a social network to maximize expected diffusion is a widely studied question in many settings. Several studies propose network-centrality-based heuristics to select seeds likely to increase diffusion. Here, we show that, for the classic independent cascade model of diffusion, either seeding a few more individuals at random can prompt a larger diffusion than optimal seeding or optimal seeding itself results in limited spread. These findings hold across a broad range of random networks and are supported by simulations on real-world networks.Citation
Akbarpour, Mohammad, Suraj Malladi, and Amin Saberi. 2025. "Just a Few Seeds More: The Value of Network Data for Diffusion." American Economic Review 115 (11): 3713–48. DOI: 10.1257/aer.20180798Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D83 Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
- D85 Network Formation and Analysis: Theory
- O12 Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
- O18 Economic Development: Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
- P25 Socialist Systems and Transitional Economies: Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics
- P32 Collectives; Communes; Agriculture
- Z13 Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification