Harvard’s Raj Chetty reveals how 21 billion Facebook friendships shape economic outcomes

A large-scale study of data involving 21 billion friendships on Facebook, led by Harvard University economist Raj Chetty, has revealed how these social connections help shape economic outcomes in the country.
Born in New Delhi, Chetty is the William A. Ackman Professor of Economics at Harvard University and the director of Opportunity Insights, which uses big data to study the science of economic opportunity.
The researchers examined data on Facebook collected from 72.2 million US-based Facebook users between age 25 and 44 who listed their zip code.
The research, published in two papers in the journal Nature, found that social connections play an important role in helping people achieve economic mobility, and neighbourhoods that foster more connections between low-income and high-income people tend to have higher levels of mobility.