Authority Measure for Opinion Dynamics

Abstract

We propose a formal framework for measuring the authority of individuals in a setting of opinion dynamics. Our framework is based on an axiomatic approach in the tradition of coalitional game theory. We show that the unique solution concept satisfying our axioms is a generalization of the ``authority distribution'' notion of  Hu and Shapley (2003). A novelty of our approach is that it is based on the dynamics of opinion exchange rather than on network topology. However, for any fixed opinion dynamics, our approach associates a network centrality measure with any given network topology. Previous as well as new network centrality measures are obtained in this way.

Keywords: opinion dynamics, networks, authority measure, centrality measure