Alternative Representations of Information in Microeconomic Systems
{'Code': '04050100', 'Directorate': {'LongName': 'Direct For Social, Behav & Economic Scie'}, 'Division': {'LongName': 'Divn Of Social and Economic Sciences'}}
{'SignBlockName': 'Lynn A. Pollnow'}
A natural feature of a microeconomic model which incorporates                   uncertainty on the parts of the economic agents is the possibility              that different agents possess different information.  The dynamics of           an economic system provides agents with the opportunity for acquiring           more information via prices, quantities purchased, and other states of          the economic environment.  Throughout this process agents form                  expectations about the future of the system, and make decisions based           on those expectations.  These expectations might concern future                 government policy, one's future income, changes in prices and so on.            Therefore correctly modeling expectations is crucial to analyzing a             wide range of economic phenomena.                                                                                                                               This project rigorously examines the fundamental structures of                  information systems to ascertain when rational expectations                     equilibrium will result in response to changes in the economic                  variables.  The presence of an economic equilibrium implies that                expectations are rational.  The work studies the costs incurred by the          agents of acquiring information, and the potential information content          of economic variables such as prices.  Also examined is the effect of           decentralized decision-making on the attainability of rational                  expectations equilibrium.                                                       %%%                                                                             The concept of equilibrium, that is a point to which a dynamic system           tends to move in response to changes in the system, is central to the           analysis of economic as well as physical phenomena.  An important               aspect of most economic decisions is that they are made in the                  presence of uncertainty.  For instance, consumer decisions to make              major purchases like houses or automobiles incorporate expectations             about future income, future prices, and the state of the economy.               Uncertainty is inherent in such decisions, although present values of           economic variables like prices might contain come information about             the future.                                                                                                                                                     A natural feature of a microeconomic model which incorporates                   uncertainty on the parts of the economic agents is the possibility              that different agents possess different information.  The dynamics of           an economic system provides agents with the opportunity for acquiring           more information via prices, quantities purchased, and other states of          the economic environment.  Throughout this process agents form                  expectations about the future of the system, and make decisions based           on those expectations.  These expectations might concern future                 government policy, one's future income, changes in prices and so on.            Therefore correctly modeling expectations is crucial to analyzing a             wide range of economic phenomena.                                                                                                                               This project studies in a mathematically rigorous way the structures            of information and communication among agents in an economic system,            and how they act to bring the system to equilibrium.
{'FirstName': 'Beth', 'LastName': 'Allen', 'EmailAddress': 'allen030@umn.edu', 'StartDate': '03/15/1989', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Principal Investigator'}
{'Name': 'University of Pennsylvania', 'CityName': 'Philadelphia', 'ZipCode': '191046205', 'PhoneNumber': '2158987293', 'StreetAddress': 'Research Services', 'CountryName': 'United States', 'StateName': 'Pennsylvania', 'StateCode': 'PA'}
{'Code': '1320', 'Text': 'ECONOMICS'}
{'url': 'https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/download?DownloadFileName=1988&All=true', 'xml': '8821442.xml'}