Maybe I Should Just Stay Home

Tanjim Hossain () and John Morgan

MPRA Paper from University Library of Munich, Germany

Abstract: We model decisions to apply for a job or admission, attend an audition, or run for office as costly entry in contests where the outcomes solely depend on entrants' talent or ability. Player ability is privately known and players generically differ in commonly-known characteristics such as ability distributions, entry costs, or payoffs from winning. Any infinitesimal difference in these characteristics leads to wildly different equilibrium entry probabilities. Minute differences in characteristics imply large dispersions in representation even in a pure meritocracy. We can improve social welfare by handicapping advantaged players or by surcharging advantaged players to subsidize disadvantaged players.

Keywords: Meritocracy; diversity; heterogeneous contestants; endogenous costly entry; affirmative actions; stereotyping; overconfidence (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C72 D82 J82 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022-01-26
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pra:mprapa:111761

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