Persuaded Search

Fuente: arXiv
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Hauptverfasser: Mekonnen, Teddy, Murra-Anton, Zeky, Pakzad-Hurson, Bobak
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2023
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author Mekonnen, Teddy
Murra-Anton, Zeky
Pakzad-Hurson, Bobak
author_facet Mekonnen, Teddy
Murra-Anton, Zeky
Pakzad-Hurson, Bobak
contents We consider sequential search by an agent who cannot observe the quality of goods but can acquire information by buying signals from a profit-maximizing principal with limited commitment power. The principal can charge higher prices for more informative signals in any period, but high prices in the future discourage continued search by the agent, thereby reducing the principal's future profits. A unique stationary equilibrium outcome exists, and we show that the principal $(i)$ induces the socially efficient stopping rule, $(ii)$ extracts the full surplus, and $(iii)$ persuades the agent against settling for marginal goods, extending the duration of surplus extraction. However, introducing an additional, free source of information can lead to inefficiency in equilibrium.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2303_13409
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Persuaded Search
Mekonnen, Teddy
Murra-Anton, Zeky
Pakzad-Hurson, Bobak
Theoretical Economics
We consider sequential search by an agent who cannot observe the quality of goods but can acquire information by buying signals from a profit-maximizing principal with limited commitment power. The principal can charge higher prices for more informative signals in any period, but high prices in the future discourage continued search by the agent, thereby reducing the principal's future profits. A unique stationary equilibrium outcome exists, and we show that the principal $(i)$ induces the socially efficient stopping rule, $(ii)$ extracts the full surplus, and $(iii)$ persuades the agent against settling for marginal goods, extending the duration of surplus extraction. However, introducing an additional, free source of information can lead to inefficiency in equilibrium.
title Persuaded Search
topic Theoretical Economics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.13409