MS&E 344: Applied Information Economics

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Summary

This course serves as an introduction to the economics of information. It is primarily for graduate students who have had prior exposure to probability theory, basic microeconomics and game theory. The major objective of the course is to enable students to effectively use tools in the economics of uncertainty and information in order to conduct rigorous model-based research in the applied social sciences on topics involving the use of information.

Contact Details

Instructor

Thomas A. Weber

Terman Engineering Center, Room 442

Phone: (650) 725-6827 [650-PALM-VCR]

Fax: (650) 723-1614

E-Mail: webert@stanford.edu

Office Hours: MF 3-4:30 & by appointment

Administrative Assistance

Ms. Marilynn Rose

Terman Engineering Center, Room 310

Phone: (650) 725-1622

E-Mail: mjrose@stanford.edu

Useful Links (Some Stanford Only)

· Engineering Library × obtain the reference books for this course from the circulation desk

· Econlit × major database where you can look for published work by keyword, etc. (go to: EBSCOhost → Research Databases ... → Econlit)

· Inomics × index of Economics conferences (quite comprehensive, but still incomplete)

· JSTOR × download top journal papers in Business, Economics, Statistics; most recent years not available

· Social Science Citation Index × useful to forward-search references to key papers that you identify: after searching the paper, go to its full record, click on the number next to “Times Cited”, then on the following page click on “Total”; the citation index sometimes also contains direct links to databases with pdf-copies of the papers

· Social Science Research Network × large repository of current working papers in the social sciences

Course Materials (by lecture; requires authentication)

I. Risk and Uncertainty

II. The Value of Information

III. Screening

IV. Signaling

V. Moral Hazard

VI. Imperfect Competition: Search Markets

VII. Information Sharing

VIII. Mechanism Design: Auctions and Contests

IX. Repeated Interactions and Ongoing Relationships

X. Special Topics

Some Conferences (to target your research paper)

· INFORMS × contributed talks yield almost no feedback × invited/sponsored talk useful, but there is no formal review process

· ICIS × double blind review process with AE and 3+ reviewers × AR about 15% × discussant feedback provided × papers need to be related to information systems

· Marketing Science × major conference for marketing-related fields; abstract submission deadline is February 1.

· Meetings of the Econometric Society × venue for Economists × AR about 40% but quite competitive × no review comments provided

· Spring Meeting for Young Economists × venue for junior Economists, typically held in Europe × AR about 30% × discussant feedback but no review feedback provided

· Workshop on Information Systems and Economics × selection of papers somewhat related to past participation × AR about 30% × discussant feedback provided × papers need to be related to information systems × always held two days prior to ICIS

· There are many other venues (for a good list of economics conferences, see e.g., inomics.com) … let’s discuss when the time has come.