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Screening for Choice Sets

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Listed:
  • Tan Gan
  • Yingkai Li

Abstract

We study a screening problem in which an agent privately observes a set of feasible technologies and can strategically disclose only a subset to the principal. The principal then takes an action whose payoff consequences for both players are publicly known. Under the assumption that the possible technology sets are ordered by set inclusion, we show that the optimal mechanism promises the agent a utility that is weakly increasing as the reported set expands, and the choice of the principal maximizes her own utility subject to this promised utility constraint. Moreover, the optimal promised utility either coincides with the agent's utility under the complete information benchmark or remains locally constant, with the number of constant segments bounded by the number of downward-sloping segments of the complete information benchmark.

Suggested Citation

  • Tan Gan & Yingkai Li, 2026. "Screening for Choice Sets," Papers 2601.15580, arXiv.org.
    • Handle: RePEc:arx:papers:2601.15580
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mark Armstrong & John Vickers, 2010. "A Model of Delegated Project Choice," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 78(1), pages 213-244, January.
    2. Yingni Guo & Eran Shmaya, 2023. "Regret-Minimizing Project Choice," Papers 2309.00214, arXiv.org.
    3. Jerry R. Green & Jean-Jacques Laffont, 1986. "Partially Verifiable Information and Mechanism Design," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 53(3), pages 447-456.
    4. Curello, Gregorio & Sinander, Ludvig, 2025. "Screening for breakthroughs," Theoretical Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 20(4), November.
    5. Gregorio Curello & Ludvig Sinander, 2020. "Screening for breakthroughs," Papers 2011.10090, arXiv.org, revised Mar 2025.
    6. Gregorio Curello & Ludvig Sinander, 2021. "Screening for breakthroughs: Omitted proofs," Papers 2104.02044, arXiv.org, revised Mar 2025.
    7. Elchanan Ben‐Porath & Eddie Dekel & Barton L. Lipman, 2019. "Mechanisms With Evidence: Commitment and Robustness," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 87(2), pages 529-566, March.
    8. Yingni Guo & Eran Shmaya, 2023. "Regret‐Minimizing Project Choice," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 91(5), pages 1567-1593, September.
    9. Bull, Jesse & Watson, Joel, 2007. "Hard evidence and mechanism design," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 58(1), pages 75-93, January.
    10. Dirk Bergemann & Tan Gan & Yingkai Li, 2023. "Managing Persuasion Robustly: The Optimality of Quota Rules," Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers 2372, Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics, Yale University.
    11. Deneckere, Raymond & Severinov, Sergei, 2008. "Mechanism design with partial state verifiability," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 64(2), pages 487-513, November.
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