Spin doctors: An experiment on vague disclosure

Arbeitspapier

Unfavorable news are often delivered under the disguise of vagueness. Our theory-driven laboratory experiment investigates this strategic use of vagueness in voluntary disclosure and asks whether there is scope for policy to improve information transmission. We find that vagueness is profitably deployed by senders to fool those receivers that lack strategic sophistication. Imposing precise disclosure leads to more easily interpretable messages, but results in fewer sender types disclosing at all. Since non- disclosure also systematically misleads naive receivers, the welfare implications of imposing precision are not obvious. However, our model and experiment show that information transmission and the welfare of naive receivers are improved by policies that impose precision. Our results speak to the rules governing firms' disclosure of quality-relevant information, the disclosure of research findings, and testimonies in a court of law.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: Discussion Paper ; No. 304

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design ; Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness ; Noncooperative Games ; Design of Experiments: Laboratory, Group Behavior ; Information and Product Quality; Standardization and Compatibility ; Microeconomic Policy: Formulation, Implementation, and Evaluation
• Subject: communication ; naivete ; flexibility ; regulation

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Deversi, Marvin ; Ispano, Alessandro ; Schwardmann, Peter
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München und Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Collaborative Research Center Transregio 190 - Rationality and Competition
• (where): München und Berlin
• (when): 2022

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/256771
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET