The Value of Information in Competitive Markets: Evidence from Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

S-Tier
Journal: Journal of Political Economy
Year: 2025
Volume: 133
Issue: 1
Pages: 252 - 305

Score contribution per author:

2.681 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

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

Abstract

We empirically investigate how the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) changes when gaining access to market information. To do so, we evaluate the impact of an information program diffused by a bank among its SME customers. Adopting firms gained access to reports with rich information about their own clientele and that of nearby establishments. While we find that adoption is associated with a 4.5% revenue increase, our instrumental variable results indicate that adoption increases revenue by 9%. The main mechanism driving our result is that the new information prompted adopting establishments to target gender-age customer groups underserved before adoption.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:ucp:jpolec:doi:10.1086/732525
Journal Field
General
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-25