Information Acquisition in a War of Attrition

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Kim, Kyungmin; Lee, Frances Zhiyun Xu
• 署名单位: University of Iowa; University of Hong Kong
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL-MICROECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1945-7669
• DOI: 10.1257/mic.6.2.37
• 发表日期: 2014
• 页码: 37-78
• 关键词: generalized war; disclosure; reputation; games

摘要

We consider a war of attrition where the players can learn about a state that determines their payoffs at stochastic deadline. We study how the incentives to acquire information depend on the (un)verifiability of information and its implications for efficiency. Unverifiability creates distortions (strategic delay in concession or duplication in information acquisition), but encourages information acquisition. In our model, provided that the information acquisition cost is small, these two effects cancel each other out and the players' expected payoffs in symmetric equilibrium are identical whether information is verifiable or not. We also show that shortening deadlines may prolong the conflict.