We report on an extensive series of behavioral experiments in which 36 human subjects collectively build a communication network over which they must solve a competitive coordination task for monetary compensation. There is a cost for creating network links, thus creating a tension between link expenditures and collective and individual incentives. Our most striking finding is the poor performance of the subjects, especially compared to our long series of prior experiments. We demonstrate that the subjects built difficult networks for the coordination task, and compare the structural properties of the built networks to standard generative models of social networks. We also provide extensive analysis of the individual and collective behavior of the subjects, including free riding and factors influencing edge purchasing decisions.

We report on a series of highly controlled human subject experiments in networked bargaining. The basic interaction between two players is the decision of how to share a mutual payment; we extend this to situate the players in a network. Various theories predict, to different levels of uniqueness, what the shares will be. We analyze our experimental results from three points of view: social efficiency, nodal differences, and human differences; and contrast our behavioral results with the theories.

We report on an extensive series of highly controlled human subject experiments in networked trade. Our point of departure is a simple and well-studied bipartite network exchange model, for which previous work has established a detailed equilibrium theory relating wealth to network topology. A notable feature of this theory is its prediction that there may be significant local variation in equilibrium wealths and prices purely as a result of structural asymmetries in the network.