Behavioral Economics Commons^™

How Do You Persuade Someone You Do Not Know?, H.C. Yi

Hyun Chang Yi

We examine the potential for communication via cheap talk between an expert and a decision maker whose type (or preferences) is uncertain. The expert privately observes multiple aspects of an issue and persuades the decision maker to choose an action in his favour by informing the decision maker about the issue. The decision maker privately observes her type and chooses an action. The optimal action for the decision maker depends upon her type and the state of the issue. We find that, in one-way cheap talk games where only the expert talks, the expert can always inform the decision maker …