A Unified Framework for Inference in Network Models with Degree Heterogeneity and Homophily

Abstract: The degree heterogeneity and homophily are two typical features in network data. In this paper, we formulate a general model for undirected networks with these two features and present the moment estimation for inferring the degree and homophily parameters. The binary or nonbinary network edges are simultaneously considered. We establish a unified theoretical framework under which the consistency of the moment estimator holds as the size of networks goes to infinity. We also derive the asymptotic representation of the moment estimator that can be used to characterize its limiting distribution. The asymptotic representation of the moment estimator of the homophily parameter contains a bias term. Two applications are provided to illustrate the theoretical result. Numerical studies and a real data analysis demonstrate our theoretical findings.