Public Communication and Information Acquisition

A-Tier
Journal: American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics
Year: 2014
Volume: 6
Issue: 3
Pages: 73-101

Score contribution per author:

4.036 = (α=2.02 / 1 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

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

Abstract

This paper models the tradeoff, perceived by central banks and other public actors, between providing the public with useful information and the risk of overwhelming it with excessive communication. An information authority chooses how many signals to provide regarding an aggregate state and agents respond by choosing how many signals to observe. When agents desire coordination, the number of signals they acquire may decrease in the number released. The optimal quantity of communication is positive but does not maximize agents' acquisition of information. In contrast to a model without information choice, the authority always prefers to provide more precise signals.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:aea:aejmac:v:6:y:2014:i:3:p:73-101
Journal Field
Macro
Author Count
1
Added to Database
2026-01-25