Score contribution per author:
α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count
While it is generally agreed that markets perform better when information is more complete, little has been said about how the added benefits are dist ributed. This essay explores this question in a model of brand select ion. Buyers select from among that subset of available brands of whic h they are aware. When this subset grows, there are social surplus ga ins, but the distribution of these gains between firms and consumers is shown to be sensitive to the structure of the market. It is possib le for either the sellers or the buyers to be worse off in the better -informed environment. Copyright 1988 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.