Consumption Shocks and Peer Networks: Mapping Social Spillovers in Welfare Dynamics

Bedi et al. (2025) shed light on peer effects in household consumption patterns in Ghana, but there’s still little research on how negative or positive consumption shocks (e.g., job loss, remittance inflow, crop failure) ripple through social networks and impact welfare at the community level. This study would collect granular, time-stamped consumption data within mapped social networks and apply spatial econometric and network analysis tools to trace the spread and dampening (or amplification) of shocks. This approach moves beyond household-level analysis and opens up a dynamic, systems-based perspective, offering new insights into resilience and vulnerability. The findings could inform the design of network-aware interventions in poverty reduction, a major gap in the current literature.

References:

1. Network Effects in Household Consumption Patterns: Evidence From Northern Ghana. S. M. Bedi, Lukas Kornher, B. Kotu, Carlo Azzarri (2025). Review of Development Economics.