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Empirical-Bayes Elastic-Net Computation for Exponential Random Graph Models

Aug 2026 · 0 citations · 32 references
Mathematics

TL;DR

This work introduces BERGM Elastic Net, an adaptive empirical-Bayes approach that combines lasso shrinkage with ridge stabilization in a Bayesian ERGM that is developed for over-specified network models containing many related structural and covariate effects.

Abstract

Exponential random graph models (ERGMs) describe dependence among network ties, but inference becomes difficult when the likelihood is intractable and candidate network statistics are strongly correlated. We introduce BERGM Elastic Net, an adaptive empirical-Bayes approach that combines lasso shrinkage with ridge stabilization in a Bayesian ERGM. A latent-variable formulation supports approximate exchange sampling, while empirical-Bayes updates adapt the amount of regularization to the observed network. We connect the proposed prior to elastic-net penalized likelihood and clarify the interpretation of thresholded reporting and coefficient grouping. The method is developed for over-specified network models containing many related structural and covariate effects.

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