We present a model of the creation of social networks, such as political parties, trade unions, religious coalitions, or political action committees, through discussion and mutual persuasion among their members. The key idea is that people are influenced by those inside their network, but not by those outside. Once created, networks can be rented out' to politicians who seek votes and support for their initiatives and ideas, which may have little to do with network members' core beliefs. In this framework, political competition does not lead to convergence of party platforms to the views of the median voter. Rather, parties separate their messages and try to isolate their members to prevent personal influence from those in the opposition.
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Length: Date of creation: Jan 2004 Date of revision: Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:10248
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Sendhil Mullainathan & Andrei Shleifer, 2005.
"The Market for News,"
American Economic Review,
American Economic Association, vol. 95(4), pages 1031-1053, September.
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Cited by: (explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)
Casey Mulligan & Andrei Shleifer, 2004.
"Conscription as Regulation,"
NBER Working Papers
10558, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
[Downloadable!] (restricted)
Other versions:
Sendhil Mullainathan & Joshua Schwartzstein & Andrei Shleifer, 2006.
"Coarse Thinking and Persuasion,"
NBER Working Papers
12720, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
[Downloadable!] (restricted)
Other versions:
Sendhil Mullainathan & Andrei Shleifer, 2005.
"The Market for News,"
American Economic Review,
American Economic Association, vol. 95(4), pages 1031-1053, September.
[Downloadable!]
Sendhil Mullainathan & Andrei Shleifer, 2005.
"Persuasion in Finance,"
NBER Working Papers
11838, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
[Downloadable!] (restricted)