We develop a modification of the connections model by Jackson and Wolinsky (1996)

that takes into account negative externalities arising from the connectivity of direct and indirect

neighbors, thus combining aspects of the connections model and the co-author model. We consider

a general functional form for agents’ utility that incorporates both the effects of distance and of

neighbors’ degree. Consequently, we introduce a framework that can be seen as a degree-distancebased

connections model with both negative and positive externalities. Our analysis shows how

the introduction of negative externalities modifies certain results about stability and efficiency

compared to the original connections model. In particular, we see the emergence of new stable

structures, such as a star with links between peripheral nodes. We also identify structures, for

example, certain disconnected networks, that are efficient in our model but which could not be

efficient in the original connections model. While our results are proved for the general utility

function, some of them are illustrated by using a specific functional form of the degree-distancebased

utility.