(Pro-) Social Learning and Strategic Disclosure /

We study a sequential experimentation model with endogenous feedback. Agents choose between a safe and risky action, the latter generating stochastic rewards. When making this choice, each agent is selfishly motivated (myopic). However, agents can disclose their experiences to a public record, and w...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Gespeichert in:
1. Verfasser:
Bénabou, Roland
Körperschaft:
National Bureau of Economic Research
Weitere Verfasser:
Vellodi, Nikhil
Format:
Elektronisch E-Book
Sprache:
Englisch
Veröffentlicht:
Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2024.
Zusammenfassung:
We study a sequential experimentation model with endogenous feedback. Agents choose between a safe and risky action, the latter generating stochastic rewards. When making this choice, each agent is selfishly motivated (myopic). However, agents can disclose their experiences to a public record, and when doing so are pro-socially motivated (forward-looking). When prior uncertainty is large, disclosure is both polarized (only extreme signals are disclosed) and positively biased (no feedback is bad news). When prior uncertainty is small, a novel form of unraveling occurs and disclosure is complete. Subsidizing disclosure costs can perversely lead to less disclosure but more experimentation.
Umfang:
1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);
Anmerkungen:
May 2024.
Schlagworte: