This award funds research in the economic theory of information. The objective of the research is to obtain a better understanding of the reasons why people fail to take advantage of available information in strategic settings. The PI develops new models that organize observations about how people share and use information. He then works out the formal implications of these models and frames hypotheses that can be used to test the models and distinguish between them. This project contributes to game theory, develops concepts and a taxonomy to give rigorous foundation to ideas about coordination, conventions, argumentation, and social comparison, and suggests ways to structure economic environments to improve performance.
Failures to share information within and between groups can lead to significant costs in the decision making of committees, juries, and corporations. The research will provide new insight into how to structure the organizing rules of such committees to reduce communication failures.
