Sorting expertise

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Kaya, Ayca; Vereshchagina, Galina
• 署名单位: University of Miami; Arizona State University; Arizona State University-Tempe
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC THEORY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-0531
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jet.2022.105497
• 发表日期: 2022
• 关键词: Assortative matching; teams; information sharing; expertise; COMMUNICATION; signaling

摘要

We analyze the optimal sorting of experts who differ in their ability to acquire information, into production teams. Once a team is formed, experts individually acquire information about the joint project, communicate the information they acquired, and then engage in team production. Misalignment of preferences at the production stage creates incentives for belief manipulation at the communication stage. We show that the cost associated with misaligned incentives is minimized if experts of similar abilities are placed in the same team. Consequently, surplus maximization may lead to non-diversified teams, even if in the absence of misaligned incentives optimal sorting is negative assortative. Thus, our analysis provides a novel rationale for creation of non-diversified teams of experts. (c) 2022 Published by Elsevier Inc.