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- Edling, Christoffer, 1966-
(author)
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Essays on Social Dynamics
- 1999
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- In this thesis, various aspects of the modeling of social dynamics are discussed. Both theoretical and empirical illustrations and examples are given.In Chapter 1, formal dynamic models are discussed in general terms. It is argued that a wider application of explicitly dynamic models in sociological theory is needed, and that formal - mathematical and computational - language is a superior tool in constructing theoretical models. In Chapter 2, (with Olof Bäckman) the weak relationship between mathematically formulated theories and statistical models in current sociology is addressed. Potential problems that may distort the theoretical interpretations of statistical tests as a consequence of refraining from an exact specification of the theoretical model are discussed. The Vacancy Competition Model is singled out as an exemplary illustration of an integrative approach for the improvement of quantitative sociology.A rare process of list transfers at the Stockholm Stock Exchange in 1997 is analyzed in Chapter 3 (with Rickard Sandell). Drawing on a theory of social influence in board interlocks, the phenomenon is modeled as a continuous stochastic process by utilizing event-history techniques. The empirical results support for the idea that social embeddedness is a critical factor in some types of strategic decision making.In Chapter 4 (with Fredrik Liljeros) the spread of competitive floorball in Sweden in the 1980s and 1990s is modeled as a mixed-influence diffusion process. The prime interest is to examine the relative importance of external and internal change agents. A contribution to this family of models is made, by developing an analytical technique for separating the two sources of influence. The differential equations have exact solutions, and the empirical estimation is undertaken by means of ordinary least square regression. The model provides a very good fit in most of the districts analyzed, and variations in contributions from internal and external influence are observed across districts.In Chapter 5 (with Fredrik Liljeros), an extended modeling of both internal and external influence is proposed. A model is developed in which the internal influence incorporates the idea of thresholds, and the external influence is modeled as dependent upon parallel diffusion processes in the social system not as a constant parameter. The model is tested empirically on the diffusion of trade union members in the Stockholm area between 1890 and 1940, utilizing non-linear optimization.Chapter 6 is a theoretical analysis of the emergence of organizational rules. In this context, rules are meant to denote something that is the opposite of conscious rationality. It is argued that the presence of such rules can be explained only by means of a dynamic theoretical apparatus. Behavioral rules are then modeled as strategies in a two-by-two game, and evolutionary game theory is applied to model the evolution of organizational rules from such strategies. The essentials of evolutionary game theory is introduced, and some examples are given to demonstrate that a plain and straightforward selection mechanism, already in very simple games, gives rise to interesting and complex dynamics.
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- Mood, Carina, 1973-
(author)
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Poor Choices? : On Social Context and the Claiming of Means-tested Benefits
- 2006
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- In this dissertation, comprising one theoretical chapter and three self-contained empirical studies, I study how the choice to claim means-tested benefits is affected by the social context. In Chapter 1, Considering Choices, I discuss how sociological research can benefit from taking choices into account, and I review the literature on rational choice theory to assess its relevance as a tool for considering choices in sociology.In Chapter 2, Social Influence Effects on Social Assistance Recipiency, I use aggregated register data on individuals 20–25 years old in Stockholm County during the 1990’s, to study whether Social Assistance (SA) recipiency of others of the same age in the parish of residence is related to one’s own propensity to apply for such benefits: the results show that it has substantial effects on inflow to SA but only weak effects on outflow from SA.In Chapter 3, Endogenous Neighbourhood Effects on Welfare Use, I use micro-level register data to study these processes among couples in Stockholm. The results corroborate the finding that SA recipiency among people in the neighbourhood substantially affects the probability of inflow to SA recipiency at a given income standard, suggesting self-reinforcing effects of changes in the level of SA. The estimated effects on outflow are negligible.Chapter 4, Take-up Down Under: The Under-use of Means-tested Benefits in Australia, studies the choices to claim means-tested benefits in Australia. In contrast to Sweden, virtually all benefits in Australia are means-tested. I use survey panel data to estimate the general level of non-take-up of means-tested benefits among the poor, and to study the extent and causes of take-up of Parenting Payment. The results suggest that take-up of means-tested benefits is relatively high in Australia, but that groups likely to experience higher stigma, higher transaction costs, and to have less access to information have lower take-up than others.
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- Sandell, Rickard, 1964-
(author)
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Social movements and social networks
- 1998
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- One consistent finding in research on social movement organizations is that people's participation as well as their involvement in the formation of these organizations is linked to their structural location in several social dimensions. Hence, understanding the premises for social movement organizations is ultimately a question of examining the structure of people's social networks.Drawing on these findings, the first study in this thesis argues that an individual's decision to leave a social movement organization is the result of similar influences. By using information about membership turnover in a local Swedish temperance organization, the question of whether existing members' dropout propensity is related to prior members' dropout decisions is tested. It is found that existing members' dropout propensity increases when their socially relevant others drop out of the organization. The results suggest that the decision processes concerning leaving and joining an organization are mirror images. This should have implications for any analysis of social movement organizations because only when this duality of interpersonal influences is considered can we fully understand the social dynamics of social movement organizations.The second study in this thesis calls into question an important and usually implicit assumption in the literature, namely, that social movement organizations are units capable of growth. Organization ecology is an organization theory that has developed parallel to traditional social movement research. Ecologists have argued that organizations are inert structures that hardly ever change and that a micro process such as recruitment is only marginally important for the assessment of aggregate membership. To test whether the ecological argument is relevant for our understanding of social movements, a series of analyses are performed on three Swedish movements - the temperance, the free church, and the trade union movement. The results show considerable merit in the ecological argument and bolster the argument that we cannot fully understand social movements using micro models alone: the macro processes that influence organizational founding and disbanding also need to be included.The third study addresses the free-rider problem from a network perspective. It is suggested that individuals' groups of relevant others are considerably smaller than is usually assumed in the work of Mancur Olson and his followers. Instead of focusing on the interest group as a whole, it is argued that a group of relevant others consists of those to whom the individual is tied through various social bonds. Since these groups tend to be small, social incentives are likely to be effective in inducing individual participation. These ideas are tested empirically by using microdata on members in a Swedish temperance movement organization. The results of the analysis support the "small group" thesis - additional movement members in the group of relevant others increase an individual's propensity to join a social movement organization. However, the results also lend support to Olson's free-rider thesis - when controlling for the composition of the group of relevant others, the more members a movement has, the less likely it is for an individual to join the movement.Finally, the fourth study analyzes the relative importance of two networks in explaining the spatial diffusion of the Swedish Social Democratic Party. The first is a micro-network of interpersonal contacts and the second is a macro-network linking otherwise disconnected local networks. The macro-network considered here emerged out of the travel routes of political agitators affiliated with the Social Democratic Party. Party diffusion, thus, is analyzed as the combined result of two contagious processes operating at different analytical levels, and it is suggested that this multi-level approach provides a deeper understanding of the way in which the diffusion process operated. Analyses of a unique data set on the founding dates of local party organizations during the period 1894 - 1911 show that both types of networks were of considerable importance for the spatial diffusion of the Swedish Social Democratic Party.
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- Stern, Charlotta, 1967-
(author)
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The dynamics of social movements : essays on competition and diffusion
- 1999
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- In this thesis various aspects of social movement competition and diffusion is studied. The first part of the thesis focus on movement competition and especially on how competition relates to the ability of movements to attract members. The second part of the thesis focus on movement diffusion, especially on how different types of social networks affect social movement evolution.In the first essay inter-movement competition between a temperance organization and a Social Democratic party organization is studied. It is argued that a movement organization's success and evolution is influenced by other movement organizations in the local environment. Using the analogy of the ecological niche, organizational competition is modelled as a function of organizational niche-overlap. It is found that niche-overlap affect an organization's success in attracting members, and that niche interaction affect the evolution of the organizational niche.In the second essay intra-movement competition is examined with regard to its effect on the overall growth of a movement's membership. Using data on the Swedish temperance movement, hypotheses from three different theories are tested - cross pressure theory, rational choice theory, and organizational ecology theory - the main finding is that intra-movement competition increase the membership of social movements, which is in line with the hypothesis derived from rational choice theory.In the third essay intra-movement competition is further examined. A model built on the idea of ecological niches and differences in 'ways of life' is developed and hypotheses are tested using data on the free church movement. It is found that the effect of intra-movement competition on membership differ in homogeneous and heterogeneous niches. It is further found that the success of the free church movement is significantly lower in homogeneous niches. The suggested explanation is firstly, that the free church movement faced a different situation than the other folk-movements, since their organizational niche was already occupied by the Swedish state church; secondly, that the holding power of the state church was strong in homogeneous niches since they are more likely to be characterized by a common way of life.In the fourth essay the diffusion of memberships to a local temperance organization is studied. The essay addresses the free rider problem from a network perspective, and suggests that a potential solution to the problem is provided by the social networks to which individuals belong. It is argued that an individual's network consists of a group of 'relevant others' that are small enough to provide social selective incentives and, thus, to overcome the free rider problem. The ideas are tested empirically, and the results support the small group thesis - additional movement members in the group of relevant others increase an individual's propensity to join the organization.The last essay analyzes the relative importance of two networks in explaining the spatial diffusion of the Swedish Social Democratic party. The first is a micro-network of interpersonal contacts and the second is a macro-network linking otherwise disconnected local networks. This macro-network emerged out of the travel routes of the party's political agitators. Party diffusion, thus, is analyzed as the combined result of two networks at different analytical levels, and it is suggested that this multi-level approach provides a deeper understanding of the diffusion process. The empirical results show that both types of networks were of considerable importance for party diffusion.
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