Does reducing communication barriers promote diversity?

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Dong, Miaomiao; Mayskaya, Tatiana
• 署名单位: Pennsylvania Commonwealth System of Higher Education (PCSHE); Pennsylvania State University; Pennsylvania State University - University Park; HSE University (National Research University Higher School of Economics)
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC THEORY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-0531
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jet.2024.105932
• 发表日期: 2024
• 关键词: diversity; COMMUNICATION

摘要

We study how a reduction in communication cost affects equilibrium diversity (in expertise) in hiring decisions. The key trade-off is that, while hiring a more diverse team may enlarge the team's pool of knowledge, it also makes communication between the hired experts more challenging. Equilibrium diversity balances this trade-off. We find that equilibrium diversity may exhibit a U-shape relationship with communication cost, reaching its lowest point at moderate cost values, where experts' incentives to communicate are most sensitive to changes in diversity.