The Status Quo and Belief Polarization of Inattentive Agents: Theory and Experiment
研究了理性但注意力不足的代理人如何因现状估值不同而出现事前信念极化，并通过实验室实验验证了理性信息获取机制及其对信念的系统性极化效应。
We show that rational but inattentive agents can become polarized ex ante. We present how optimal information acquisition and subsequent belief formation depend crucially on the agent-specific status quo valuation. Beliefs can systematically—in expectations over all possible signal realizations conditional on the state of the world—update away from the realized truth, and even agents with the same initial beliefs might become polarized. We design a laboratory experiment to test the model’s predictions. The results confirm our predictions about the mechanism (rational information acquisition) and its effect on beliefs (systematic polarization), and they provide general insights into demand for information.