  Models for generating simple graphs are important in the study of real-world
complex networks. A well established example of such a model is the erased
configuration model, where each node receives a number of half-edges that are
connected to half-edges of other nodes at random, and then self-loops are
removed and multiple edges are concatenated to make the graph simple. Although
asymptotic results for many properties of this model, such as the limiting
degree distribution, are known, the exact speed of convergence in terms of the
graph sizes remains an open question. We provide a first answer by analyzing
the size dependence of the average number of removed edges in the erased
configuration model. By combining known upper bounds with a Tauberian Theorem
we obtain upper bounds for the number of removed edges, in terms of the size of
the graph. Remarkably, when the degree distribution follows a power-law, we
observe three scaling regimes, depending on the power law exponent. Our results
provide a strong theoretical basis for evaluating finite-size effects in
networks.
