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.