Entry in contests with incomplete information: Theory and experiments

This paper studies entry decisions in contests with private values. Potential contestants observe their value and the common opportunity cost of entry, and make entry decisions simultaneously. Theory predicts that whether or not contestants are informed of the number of entrants prior to choosing th...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Aycinena Abascal, Diego, Rentschler L.
Formato: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2019
País:Colombia
Recursos:Universidad del Rosario
Repositorio:Repositorio EdocUR - U. Rosario
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:repository.urosario.edu.co:10336/24023
Acesso em linha:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2019.07.001
https://repository.urosario.edu.co/handle/10336/24023
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:Contests
Endogenous entry
Experiments
Descrição
Resumo:This paper studies entry decisions in contests with private values. Potential contestants observe their value and the common opportunity cost of entry, and make entry decisions simultaneously. Theory predicts that whether or not contestants are informed of the number of entrants prior to choosing their expenditures has no effect on entry or aggregate expenditures. We test these assertions in our experiments. We find substantial over-entry in both information structures. However, entry is higher when contestants are informed. Since expenditures do not, on average, differ across information structures, aggregate expenditure is also higher when contestants are informed. Contestants earn on average less than the opportunity cost of entry. © 2019