Derek Stafford

Derek Stafford is completing his Ph.D. in Political Science at the University of Michigan and is primarily interested in how social network structure affects collective action. His work includes studies on behavioral economics, public health, the federal judiciary, and survey procedures. Along with research partner D. Alex Hughes, Derek ran the Rural Social Networks Study (RSNS) in La Union, Honduras to study social networks and collective action in a natural laboratory. He is collaborating on a project, also in Honduras, on social networks and maternal, neonatal, and child health and is helping develop a survey platform to facilitate similar projects with social networks.

Recent Publications

• “Testing for Balance in Social Networks,” Journal of the American Statistical Association, May 2020
• “Exposure, Hazard, and Survival Analysis of Diffusion on Social Networks,” Statistics in Medicine, Apr 2018
• “Exploiting Social Influence to Magnify Population-Level Behavior Change in Maternal and Child Health: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Network Targeting Algorithms in Rural Honduras,” BMJ Open, Dec 2016