The wrong kind of information

By Aditya V. Kuvalekar, João Ramos and Johannes Schneider
The RAND Journal of Economics | 2023

DOI

https://www.jstor.org/stable/48783415

Citation

Kuvalekar, A., Ramos, J., Schneider, J. (2023). The wrong kind of information. The RAND Journal of Economics, 54(2), 360-384

Copyright

The RAND Journal of Economics, 2023

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Abstract

Agents, some with a bias, decide between undertaking a risky project and a safe alternative based on information about the project’s efficiency. Only a part of that information is verifiable. Unbiased agents want to undertake only efficient projects, but biased agents want to undertake any project. If the project causes harm, a court examines the verifiable information, forms a belief about the agent’s type, and decides the punishment. Tension arises between deterring inefficient projects and a chilling effect on using the unverifiable information. Improving the unverifiable information always increases overall efficiency, but improving the verifiable information may reduce efficiency.

Aditya Kuvalekar is a microeconomist whose primary research area is information economics. His research examines how changes in information environments shape individual and collective behavior, with applications ranging from protests and voting to interactions within organizations. A second strand of his work focuses on market design, including problems of land acquisition from groups and school choice when students have non-standard preferences. His research has been published in leading economics journals, including The American Economic Review, The RAND Journal of Economics, American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, and Journal of Economic Theory. 

Aditya
Aditya Kuvalekar