2020 Sen Club 20 Matthew O. Jackson: The Role of Social Networks in Inequality and Immobility

Sen Club 2020/2021 Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXfnYRi559aGSxWqza7VKfHiKxM6RY2u3 What's the power of a quick call by an influential executive? Professor Matthew Jackson (Stanford Economics) believes job markets rely heavily on referrals. It helps screen candidates and leads to better matches and increased productivity, but also disadvantages job-seekers who have few connections to employed workers, leading to increased inequality. Coupled with homophily, referrals also lead to immobility. Therefore understanding the role of social networks in inequality and immobility offers new perspectives on policy options. If you have turned your subscription from Netflix to Coursera, you might have come across his lectures before. Indeed, he co-teaches a popular game theory course there! Sen Club aims to provide an engaging and interactive platform for students to have a taste of the rich field of academia and research. Please note that opinions expressed are not the opinions of the School, nor of the LSE Dept. of Economics. Best, Sen Club LSE SU Economics Society