The few-get-richer: a surprising consequence of popularity-based rankings
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- dc.contributor.author Germano, Fabrizio
- dc.contributor.author Gómez, Vicenç
- dc.contributor.author Le Mens, Gaël
- dc.contributor.other Universitat Pompeu Fabra. Departament d'Economia i Empresa
- dc.date.accessioned 2020-05-25T09:27:05Z
- dc.date.available 2020-05-25T09:27:05Z
- dc.date.issued 2019-02-01
- dc.date.modified 2020-05-25T09:25:49Z
- dc.description.abstract Ranking algorithms play a crucial role in online platforms ranging from search engines to recommender systems. In this paper, we identify a surprising consequence of popularity-based rankings: the fewer the items reporting a given signal, the higher the share of the overall traffic they collectively attract. This few-get-richer effect emerges in settings where there are few distinct classes of items (e.g., left-leaning news sources versus right-leaning news sources), and items are ranked based on their popularity. We demonstrate analytically that the few-get-richer effect emerges when people tend to click on top-ranked items and have heterogeneous preferences for the classes of items. Using simulations, we analyze how the strength of the effect changes with assumptions about the setting and human behavior.We also test our predictions experimentally in an online experiment with human participants. Our findings have important implications to understand the spread of misinformation.
- dc.format.mimetype application/pdf*
- dc.identifier https://econ-papers.upf.edu/ca/paper.php?id=1636
- dc.identifier.citation
- dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/10230/44775
- dc.language.iso eng
- dc.relation.ispartofseries Economics and Business Working Papers Series; 1636
- dc.rights L'accés als continguts d'aquest document queda condicionat a l'acceptació de les condicions d'ús establertes per la següent llicència Creative Commons
- dc.rights.accessRights info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
- dc.rights.uri http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/es/
- dc.subject.keyword
- dc.subject.keyword Microeconomics
- dc.title The few-get-richer: a surprising consequence of popularity-based rankings
- dc.title.alternative
- dc.type info:eu-repo/semantics/workingPaper