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Managing Persuasion Robustly: The Optimality of Quota Rules

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  • Dirk Bergemann

    (Yale University)

  • Tan Gan

    (Yale University)

  • Yingkai Li

    (Yale University)

Abstract

We study a sender-receiver model where the receiver can commit to a decision rule before the sender determines the information policy. The decision rule can depend on the signal structure and the signal realization that the sender adopts. This framework captures applications where a decision-maker (the receiver) solicit advice from an interested party (sender). In these applications, the receiver faces uncertainty regarding the senderÕs preferences and the set of feasible signal structures. Consequently, we adopt a unified robust analysis framework that includes max-min utility, min-max regret, and min-max approximation ratio as special cases. We show that it is optimal for the receiver to sacrifice ex-post optimality to perfectly align the senderÕs incentive. The optimal decision rule is a quota rule, i.e., the decision rule maximizes the receiverÕs ex-ante payoff subject to the constraint that the marginal distribution over actions adheres to a consistent quota, regardless of the senderÕs chosen signal structure.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:cwl:cwldpp:2372
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    References listed on IDEAS

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