A Network of Connections is a Valuable Resource

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Network Determines Long Run Knowledge

Here we have the same society, with the low ranking agent connected to the top network.

Press "Go" to run time forward by 20 periods and see how the resources move. Note, in particular, the resources of the agent who left the top tier (and is now alone) and the one that moved to the top tier.

In the plot below, you can clearly see how the resources of the newly-elite agent leave the trajectory of its former network and joins the trajectory of the new network. The newly-abandoned agent, on the other hand, goes off on a different trajectory entirely.

The point of this illustration is a more formal accounting of the idea that "it's not just what you know but whom you know." Numerous studies, for example, have concluded that access to better schools can provide a network of contacts that is useful throughout one's career. In an information economy, one's network of connections can prove to be a considerable asset.

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