Voluntary information acquisition in an asymmetric-Information game:comparing learning theories in the laboratory

Yuanji Wen

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2018, vol. 150, issue C, 202-219

Abstract: This paper uses an experimental design of voluntary information acquisition to assess the information assumptions of different learning models. The design is implemented in two-stage asymmetric-information games. Subjects’ information-seeking behavior reveals that they tend to choose certain information sets that are consistent with belief-based learning theories rather than reinforcement theories. A hybrid-learning model with information acquisition that is a variant of the Generalized Experience-Weighted-Attraction (GEWA) model (Shafran, 2012) is also proposed. It successfully captures the different learning speeds of two groups of subjects (i.e., informed and uninformed subjects), and shows that once information acquisition data is added into a structural model that focuses on action data alone, the performance is enhanced. Additional individual analysis indicates that the information acquisition behavior assumed by learning models appears to suggest the learning rule subjects follow. The results suggest that tracking subjects’ voluntary information choices is a useful tool for analyzing their learning behaviors.

Keywords: Discrimination among learning models; Historical information lookups; Mixed-population learning; Two-stage asymmetric-information game (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C72 C90 D82 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167268118300969
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:150:y:2018:i:c:p:202-219

DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2018.03.023

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization is currently edited by Houser, D. and Puzzello, D.

More articles in Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().