Network Economics

How do illegal markets grow and develop? Using unique transaction-level data on 7,205 market actors and 16,847 illegal drug exchanges on a “darknet” drug market, the authors evaluate the network processes that shape online illegal drug trade and promote the growth of online illegal drug markets. Contrary to past research on online markets, the authors argue that the high-risk context of illegal trade enhances market actors’ reliance on social relationships that emerge endogenously from transaction networks. The findings reveal a highly structured trade network characterized by dense clustering and frequent recurrent drug exchange. Dynamic network models reveal that both embeddedness and closure in exchange structure increase the hazard rate of illegal drug trade, with effect sizes comparable to formal reputations. These effects are pronounced in the early stages of market development but wane once the market reaches maturity. These findings demonstrate the powerful, temporally contingent, influence of transaction networks on illegal trade in online markets and reveal how endogenous networks of economic relations can promote risky exchange under conditions of relative anonymity and illegality.

How do illegal markets grow and develop? Using unique transactionlevel data on 7,205 market actors and 16,847 illegal drug exchanges on a "darknet" drug market, the authors evaluate the network processes that shape online illegal drug trade and promote the growth of online illegal drug markets. Contrary to past research on online markets, the authors argue that the high-risk context of illegal trade enhances market actors' reliance on social relationships that emerge endogenously from transaction networks. The findings reveal a highly structured trade network characterized by dense clustering and frequent recurrent drug exchange. Dynamic network models reveal that both embeddedness and closure in exchange structure increase the hazard rate of illegal drug trade, with effect sizes comparable to formal reputations. These effects are pronounced in the early stages of market development but wane once the market reaches maturity. These findings demonstrate the powerful, temporally contingent, influence of transaction networks on illegal trade in online markets and reveal how endogenous networks of economic relations can promote risky exchange under conditions of relative anonymity and illegality. Governments play a key role in market development. States define the type of products for sale as well as the rules governing exchange. Markets also rely on

Networks consist of agents and the activities of them. A large number of studies in mainstream economics focus on the activities of homogenous agents. However it is clear that the reality is quite different. In fact, economic systems involve many heterogeneous agents and their complex interactions. To overcome this weakness of the classical perspective, in recent years, direction of the studies has changed towards the complex networks. Agent based modeling and simulation (ABMS) is a powerful tool for analyzing such systems. Model enables interacting agents to assess individually their positions and make decisions on the basis of a set of rules that configure the system. The aim of this study is to guide the researchers who are interested in agent based modeling of complex networks, by examining its vide range of applications. Accordingly, first a brief explanation of complexity and complex systems is given. Then a literature survey on the studies concerning agent based modeling applications of social network is presented and suggestions are given for some promising applications.

This article develops the Fado, a unique folk music form, as a cultural metaphor for Portugal. This process illustrates the value of the metaphoric methodology as a means to deepen understanding of national cultures. Findings yield three major insights. First, the Fado metaphor provides a rich illustration of the Portuguese cultural mindset, embraced
by the population as an enduring representation of national identity. Second, the Fado metaphor enables us to incorporate cultural characteristics represented by several traditional dimensions frameworks to elucidate our understanding of significant cultural factors. Third,
the cultural metaphor method breaks through the constraints imposed by dimensional research and enables us to understand intra-cultural variations in attitudes, behaviors, and values. Particularly, the identification of cultural paradoxes constitutes a major contribution
of this work. Paradoxes described here capture the dialectic nature of Portuguese culture in the areas of Fatalism and Perseverance; Large Power Distance and Equality; Uncertainty Avoidance and Risk-Taking; Group Orientation and Isolation; and Private and Shared Space.

Contemporary economic networks operate in a turbulent geo-economic context in which the external environment determines the formation or disintegration of such networks. The article focuses on economic networks through the prism of network analysis, actor-network theory, and network theory. As a consequence, the authors attempted to develop an actor-network model, taking into account the geo-economic context, social and technical actors, their roles and positions in the economic network, and network measures (centrality, knowledge/resource/task diversity, and redundancy). Due to the conceptual nature of the article, a less formalised, narrative literature review was used, which allowed for the free selection of literature and its interpretation in the context of the research question posed. As a result, a conceptual actor-network model for economic networks was created, understood as a framework for the analysis of the network of relations, interactions, and interdependencies occurring between the socio-technical actors of the economic networks through the prism of the allocation and distribution of information, knowledge, resources, and tasks. The actor-network model is the starting point for further, more advanced research, as well as the operationalisation and validation of the model, which would contribute to the actor-network theory and network theory. In this conceptual form, the presented actor-network model seems to be universal, and its application is possible whenever we can identify actors and the relationships between them. Its implementation in the study of economic networks in any sector is conditioned by the definition of social and technical actors; their relations, roles, and positions in the network affecting the efficiency of the network as a whole.

Networks consist of agents and the activities of them. A large number of studies in mainstream economics focus on the activities of homogenous agents. However it is clear that the reality is quite different. In fact, economic systems involve many heterogeneous agents and their complex interactions. To overcome this weakness of the classical perspective, in recent years, direction of the studies has changed towards the complex networks. Agent based modeling and simulation (ABMS) is a powerful tool for analyzing such systems. Model enables interacting agents to assess individually their positions and make decisions on the basis of a set of rules that configure the system. The aim of this study is to guide the researchers who are interested in agent based modeling of complex networks, by examining its vide range of applications. Accordingly, first a brief explanation of complexity and complex systems is given. Then a literature survey on the studies concerning agent based modeling appl...