Volume 23 - Article 6 | Pages 117-152

A description of within-family resource exchange networks in a Malawian village


Date received:	18 May 2009
Date published:	20 Jul 2010
Word count:	4244
Keywords:	Malawi, Malawi Longitudinal Study of Families and Health, networks, resource exchange, social network
DOI:	10.4054/DemRes.2010.23.6

Abstract

In this paper we explore patterns of economic transfers between adults within household and family networks in a village in Malawi’s Rumphi district, using data from the 2006 round of the Malawi Longitudinal Study of Families and Health. We fit Exponential-family Random Graph Models (ERGMs) to assess individual, relational, and higher-order network effects. The network effects of cyclic giving, reciprocity, and in-degree and out-degree distribution suggest a network with a tendency away from the formation of hierarchies or "hubs." Effects of age, sex, working status, education, health status, and kinship relation are also considered.

Author's Affiliation

Gail E. Potter - University of Washington, United States of America [Email]
Mark S. Handcock - University of California, Los Angeles, United States of America [Email]