We consider social learning in a changing world. With changing states, societies can be responsive only if agents regularly act upon fresh information, which significantly limits the value of observational learning. When the state is close to persistent, a consensus whereby most agents choose the same action typically emerges. However, the consensus action is not perfectly correlated with the state, because societies exhibit inertia following state changes. When signals are precise enough, learning is incomplete, even if agents draw large samples of past actions, as actions then become too correlated within samples, thereby reducing informativeness and welfare.
MLA
Levy, Raphaël, et al. “Stationary Social Learning in a Changing Environment.” Econometrica, vol. 92, .no 6, Econometric Society, 2024, pp. 1939-1966, https://doi.org/10.3982/ECTA20475
Chicago
Levy, Raphaël, Marcin Pęski, and Nicolas Vieille. “Stationary Social Learning in a Changing Environment.” Econometrica, 92, .no 6, (Econometric Society: 2024), 1939-1966. https://doi.org/10.3982/ECTA20475
APA
Levy, R., Pęski, M., & Vieille, N. (2024). Stationary Social Learning in a Changing Environment. Econometrica, 92(6), 1939-1966. https://doi.org/10.3982/ECTA20475
We are deeply saddened by the passing of Kate Ho, the John L. Weinberg Professor of Economics and Business Policy at Princeton University and a Fellow of the Econometric Society. Kate was a brilliant IO economist and scholar whose impact on the profession will resonate for many years to come.
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