Birds of a Feather Flock Together: How Homophily Leads to Segregation, Inequality, and Inefficiency and What We Can Do About It

In her presentation for our Richard M. Karp Distinguished Lectures series, Nicole Immorlica (Microsoft Research) discusses the mathematics of homophily, the human tendency to associate with those similar to ourselves. She goes on to examine the impact of homophily on social inequality and the economy, and the impact of a one-time affirmative action intervention on these outcomes.