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Public Communication and Information Acquisition

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  • Ryan Chahrour

    (Boston College)

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Ryan Chahrour, 2012. "Public Communication and Information Acquisition," Boston College Working Papers in Economics 803, Boston College Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:boc:bocoec:803
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Transparency; Central Bank Communication; Monetary Policy; Global Games; Information Acquisition;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E50 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - General
    • E58 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Central Banks and Their Policies
    • E60 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - General
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness

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