A tight sufficient condition for Radner-Stiglitz nonconcavity in the value of information
Résumé
This paper deals with the existence of a nonconcavity in the value of information, as was first explained by Radner and Stiglitz [A nonconcavity in the value of information, in: M. Boyer, R.E. Kihlstrom (Eds.), Bayesian Models in Economic Theory, Elsevier Science Publishers, Amsterdam, 1984, pp. 33-52 (Chapter 3)]. After defining infinitesimal information distance variationIIDV, we find that IIDV = 0 is sufficient for a zero marginal value of information at the null. This is a condition only on the information structure and in particular is independent of the decision maker's preferences. This condition is tight: when IIDV > 0, there exists a payoff function for which the marginal value of information at the null is positive under general assumptions. © 2007.