Simple Market Equilibria with Rationally Inattentive Consumers

S-Tier
Journal: American Economic Review
Year: 2012
Volume: 102
Issue: 3
Pages: 24-29

Score contribution per author:

4.022 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We study a market with rationally inattentive consumers who are unsure of the terms of the offers made by firms, but can acquire information about the terms at a cost. In a symmetric equilibrium, the price set by firms is continuously increasing in the cost of information for consumers and decreasing in the number of firms operating. In addition, favorable a priori information about a firm leads it to set a higher price, and a new entrant can increase demand for incumbents. When consumers have heterogeneous costs of information, firms selling low-quality products may choose to set the highest prices.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:aea:aecrev:v:102:y:2012:i:3:p:24-29
Journal Field
General
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-25