Economics Seminar - Influence and Counter-influence in Networks

We study the competition for agent votes between a designer, who shapes interaction networks, and an adversary, who counter-influences at a cost. Agents’ votes depend on both the influence of the players and the opinions of their neighbors. If the designer is stronger, the equilibrium networks become more centralized; if the adversary is stronger, they become decentralized. We also study situations where random links are added to the designer’s network. Extensions include allowing multiple interaction periods before voting and requiring only a majority for the designer to win. In both extensions, the designer needs fewer resources to win.