Social Externalities, Overlap and the Poverty Trap
32 Pages Posted: 1 Apr 2014 Last revised: 25 Apr 2014
Date Written: November 24, 2013
Abstract
Previous studies find that some social groups are stuck in poverty traps because of network effects. However, these studies do not carefully analyze how these groups overcome low human capital investment activities. Unlike previous studies, the model in this paper includes network externalities in both the human capital investment stage and the subsequent career stages. This implies that not only the current network quality, but also the expectations about future network quality affect the current investment decision. Consequently, the coordinated expectation among the group members can play a crucial role in the determination of the final state. We define "overlap" for some initial skill ranges, whereby the economic performance of a group can be improved simply by increasing expectations of a brighter future. We also define "poverty trap" for some ranges, wherein a disadvantaged group is constrained by its history, and we explore the egalitarian policies to mobilize the group out of the trap.
Keywords: Group Inequality, Network Externality, Overlap, Poverty Trap
JEL Classification: I30, J15, Z13
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation