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Having wealthy people in your social network significantly boosts the likelihood that you'll participate in stock markets and savings plans, according to a new working paper I co-authored.

My colleagues and I on social finance to understand the ways in which social networks affect stock market participation and savings behavior. This is important because a substantial fraction of households in the U.S., particularly .

Given that the total return to the U.S. stock market from 1980 through September 2024 has been over 12,000%鈥攆or example, US$1,000 in 1980 would be worth $121,350 today鈥攖his creates a disparity in wealth for those who participate relative to those who do not. Understanding why some people invest and others don't is important for addressing social concerns such as rising inequality.

In our study, we looked at , which is a measure of the value that comes from being in a group or having dense social networks. Researchers have found that social capital can have positive impacts on individuals and communities, spurring innovation, and better health outcomes. We used friendship data from Facebook to measure different aspects of social networks by county in the U.S. We combined this data with tax information from the Internal Revenue Service about investments and savings.

We found that in counties where friendships with prosperous individuals are more common, investment and savings tend to be higher. Moreover, we found that having these friendships with wealthy individuals plays a more important role in shaping financial behaviors than two other aspects of social capital we looked at in our study: having a tight group of friends and living in a community with strong civic engagement.

Of course, making wealthy friends alone does not guarantee you'll invest or save more. But perhaps knowing people who invest makes it less daunting and fraught, particularly if those friends can serve as a resource and sounding board.

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