Optional Disclosure and Observational Learning

Abstract

Observational learning theories often assume that people's actions can be observed. However, in many naturally-occurring environments, individuals can choose whether to disclose their behavior to others. We provide theoretical analysis of observational learning under optional disclosure conditions. We further examine empirically how individuals decide whether to reveal decisions. Although we find evidence for other-regarding disclosure behavior, our findings highlight the importance of providing public information about how the disclosure behavior affects others.

A question about the existence of Russian economic thought

“…by Galperti and Strulovici [2017]. Of particular relevance to our argument are the experiments by March and Ziegelmeyer [2020] and Peng, Rao, Sun, and Xiao [2017], who find evidence of altruistic motives when testing standard models of observational learning. Also related is the work by 7 The decentralized nature of decision-making and communication in our model relates us to the literature on social learning on networks, which are inherently decentralized.…”