• MMAT5370

  • Social and Economic Networks: Theory, Modelling and Computations

E-mail
jwong@math.cuhk.edu.hk
Office
Lady Shaw Bldg 208
Phone extension
3943 7987
Lecturer's office hours
Please email me to arrange an appointment.
Teaching Assistant
Po Chai WONG
E-mail
pcwong@math.cuhk.edu.hk
Office
Phone extension
TA's office hours
Please email me to arrange an appointment.

Course Information

Course Outline

This course provides an overview of quantitative methods appropriate for the data analysis of social and economic networks. Many social and economic activities are embedded in networks because datasets with graph theoretic structure are increasingly available to practical users. Two of the main goals are to study:

  • how to describe, summarize and visually present network data together with computing software, e.g., MATLAB, Python and/or R and
  • formal econometric models of network formation that admit heterogeneity, strategic behavior, and/or dynamics.

Theoretical/statistical/mathematical/computational models and their applications with respect to social and network data from development and labor economics are studied. Essential topics/case-studies are selected from, but not limited to, network formation, peer effects and the social multiplier, social capital and trust, information aggregation in networks, social learning, trading in networks, technology diffusion, job search, and other related topics.

This course assumes no prior experience with programming.

Text and References

Reading List: This will be updated during the academic year.

The text/references is/are available at the CUHK library.

The text/reference should not be treated as a substitute for the lectures. The lectures may present the material covered in the text in a different manner, or deviate from it entirely. You should take your own notes in class.

Academic Offenses

The Chinese University of Hong Kong places very high importance on honesty in academic work submitted by students, and adopts a policy of zero tolerance on cheating and plagiarism. Any related offence will lead to disciplinary action including termination of studies at the University. For information on categories of offenses and types of penalties, students should consult the following link: .

Assessment

Your final letter-grade will be determined by your point Ranking viz. your final score (out of 100 points). The total score for your course grades is distributed as follows:

Class Participation
9%
(There are twelve in-class activities; we will take the best nine in-class activity scores out of the twelve).
Homework
21%
(There are three homework assignments; 7% for each).
Midterm Test
30%
from 7:45 pm - 9:00 pm, October 24, 2022
Final Test
40%
from 6:45 pm - 8:45 pm, December 5, 2022

Important Remarks

  • If you are found cheating (in the homework assignments), you will automatically get an F grade in this course and your act will be reported to the Department for necessary disciplinary actions.
  • To avoid copying of programs, your programs may be spot-checked, i.e., you will be asked questions regarding the statements in your program.
  • Please do not let others copy your programs or results as we have no way to tell who is copying whom and you may be liable for the penalties.

Calendar

Important Dates

September 2022

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
1 2 3
4 5 - Lecture 1 6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 - Lecture 2 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 - Lecture 3 27 28 29 30

October 2022

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
1
2 3 - Lecture 4 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 - Lecture 5 11 12 13 14 15
16 17 - Lecture 6 18 19 20 21 22
23 24 - Lecture 7 - Midterm Test 25 26 27 28 29
30 31 - Lecture 8

November 2022

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
1 2 3 4 5
6 7 - Lecture 9 8 9 10 11 12
13 14 - Lecture 10 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 - Lecture 11 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 - Lecture 12 29 30

December 2022

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
1 2 3
4 5 - Final Test 6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30 31

Homeworks

There will be three graded homework assignments.

Please note that you MUST do the whole homework entirely by yourself. In case of difficulty, you may consult the instructor and the tutors during their office hours. Any answers that show evidence of having been done with others will receive a score of zero; stronger action may also be taken (visit ). Don’t copy the work of others! Be neat, concise and well-organized.

Late homework answers will NOT be graded, and will receive a score of zero.

Submit your homework using Gradescope in Blackboard.

Please click the links below to download the homework.

Lecture Notes

Once you have enrolled your course, we will send you a username and password to access your online learning resources.

Please click the link below to download the lecture notes.

Jeff Chak-Fu WONG, Department of Mathematics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong.