arXiv subjects

Quitzé Valenzuela-Stookey

Publications and source records attributed to Quitzé Valenzuela-Stookey.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Utilitarian Social Choice and Distributional Welfare Analysis

Harsanyi (1955) showed that the only way to aggregate individual preferences into a social preference which satisfies certain desirable properties is ``utilitarianism'', whereby the social utility function is a weighted average of individual utilities. This representation forms the basis for welfare analysis in most applied work. We argue, however, that welfare analysis based on Harsanyi's version of utilitarianism may overlook important distributional considerations. We therefore introduce a notion of utilitarianism for discrete-choice settings which applies to \textit{social choice functions}, which describe the actions of society, rather than social welfare functions which describe society's preferences (as in Harsanyi). We characterize a representation of utilitarian social choice, and show that it provides a foundation for a family of \textit{distributional welfare measures} based on quantiles of the distribution of individual welfare effects, rather than averages.

econ.TH↗

arXiv2026

Misperception and informativeness in statistical discrimination

We study the interplay of information and prior (mis)perceptions in a Phelps-Aigner-Cain-type model of statistical discrimination in the labor market. We decompose the effect on average pay of an increase in how informative observables are about workers' skills into a non-negative instrumental component, reflecting increased surplus due to better matching of workers with tasks, and a perception-correcting component capturing how extra information diminishes the importance of prior misperceptions about the distribution of skills in the worker population. We sign the perception-correcting term: it is non-negative (non-positive) if the population was ex-ante under-perceived (over-perceived). We then consider the implications for pay gaps between equally-skilled populations that differ in information, perceptions, or both, and identify conditions under which improving information narrows pay gaps.

econ.TH↗

arXiv2026

Obviously Strategy-Proof Multi-Dimensional Allocation and the Value of Choice

A principal must allocate a set of heterogeneous tasks (or objects) among multiple agents. The principal has preferences over the allocation. Each agent has preferences over which tasks they are assigned, which are their private information. The principal is constrained by the fact that each agent has the right to demand some status-quo task assignment. I characterize the conditions under which the principal can gain by delegating some control over the assignment to the agents. Within a large class of delegation mechanisms, I then characterize those that are obviously strategy-proof (OSP), and provide guidance for choosing among OSP mechanisms.

econ.TH↗

arXiv2025

Automation and Task Allocation Under Asymmetric Information

A firm can complete the tasks needed to produce output using either machines or workers. Unlike machines, workers have private information about their preferences over tasks. I study how this information asymmetry shapes the mechanism used by the firm to allocate tasks across workers and machines. I identify important qualitative differences between the mechanisms used when information frictions are large versus small. When information frictions are small, tasks are substitutes: automating one task lowers the marginal cost of other tasks and reduces the surplus generated by workers. When frictions are large, tasks can become complements: automation can raise the marginal cost of other tasks and increase the surplus generated by workers. The results extend to a setting with multiple firms competing for workers.

econ.TH↗

arXiv2022

Subjective Complexity Under Uncertainty

Complexity of the problem of choosing among uncertain acts is a salient feature of many of the environments in which departures from expected utility theory are observed. I propose and axiomatize a model of choice under uncertainty in which the size of the partition with respect to which an act is measurable arises endogenously as a measure of subjective complexity. I derive a representation of incomplete Simple Bounds preferences in which acts that are complex from the perspective of the decision maker are bracketed by simple acts to which they are related by statewise dominance. The key axioms are motivated by a model of learning from limited data. I then consider choice behavior characterized by a "cautious completion" of Simple Bounds preferences, and discuss the relationship between this model and models of ambiguity aversion. I develop general comparative statics results, and explore applications to portfolio choice, contracting, and insurance choice.

econ.TH↗

arXiv2022

Greedy Allocations and Equitable Matchings

I provide a novel approach to characterizing the set of interim realizable allocations, in the spirit of Matthews (1984) and Border (1991). The approach allows me to identify precisely why exact characterizations are difficult to obtain in some settings. The main results of the paper then show how to adapt the approach in order to obtain approximate characterizations of the interim realizable set in such settings. As an application, I study multi-item allocation problems when agents have capacity constraints. I identify necessary conditions for interim realizability, and show that these conditions are sufficient for realizability when the interim allocation in question is scaled by 1/2. I then characterize a subset of the realizable polytope which contains all such scaled allocations. This polytope is generated by a majorization relationship between the scaled interim allocations and allocations induced by a certain ``greedy algorithm''. I use these results to study mechanism design with equity concerns and model ambiguity. I also relate optimal mechanisms to the commonly used deferred acceptance and serial dictatorship matching algorithms. For example, I provide conditions on the principal's objective such that by carefully choosing school priorities and running deferred acceptance, the principal can guarantee at least half of the optimal (full information) payoff.

econ.TH↗

arXiv2022

Statistical discrimination and statistical informativeness

We study the link between Phelps-Aigner-Cain-type statistical discrimination and familiar notions of statistical informativeness. Our central insight is that Blackwell's Theorem, suitably relabeled, characterizes statistical discrimination in terms of statistical informativeness. This delivers one-half of Chambers and Echenique's (2021) characterization of statistical discrimination as a corollary, and suggests a different interpretation of it: that discrimination is inevitable. In addition, Blackwell's Theorem delivers a number of finer-grained insights into the nature of statistical discrimination. We argue that the discrimination-informativeness link is quite general, illustrating with an informativeness characterization of a different type of discrimination.

econ.TH↗

arXiv2020

Redistribution Through Tax Relief

This paper studies politically feasible policy solutions to inequities in local public goods provision. I focus in particular on the entwined issues of high property taxes, geographic income disparities, and inequalities in public education prevalent in the United States. It has long been recognized that with a mobile population, local administration and funding of schools leads to competition between districts. By accounting for heterogeneity in incomes and home qualities, I am able to shed new light on this phenomenon, and make novel policy recommendations. I characterize the equilibrium in a dynamic general equilibrium model of location choice and education investment with a competitive housing market, heterogeneous wealth levels and home qualities, and strategic district governments. When all homes are owner-occupied, I show that competition between strategic districts leads to over-taxation in an attempt to attract wealthier residents. A simple class of policies that cap and/or tax the expenditure of richer districts are Pareto improving, and thus politically feasible. These policies reduce inequality in access to education while increasing expenditure for under-funded schools. Gains are driven by mitigation of the negative externalities generated by excessive spending among wealthier districts. I also discuss the policy implications of the degree of homeownership. The model sheds new light on observed patterns of homeownership, location choice, and income. Finally, I test the assumptions and implications empirically using a regression discontinuity design and data on property tax referenda in Massachusetts.

econ.GN↗

arXiv2020

Platform-Mediated Competition

Cross-group externalities and network effects in two-sided platform markets shape market structure and competition policy, and are the subject of extensive study. Less understood are the within-group externalities that arise when the platform designs many-to-many matchings: the value to agent $i$ of matching with agent $j$ may depend on the set of agents with which $j$ is matched. These effects are present in a wide range of settings in which firms compete for individuals' custom or attention. I characterize platform-optimal matchings in a general model of many-to-many matching with within-group externalities. I prove a set of comparative statics results for optimal matchings, and show how these can be used to analyze the welfare effects various changes, including vertical integration by the platform, horizontal mergers between firms on one side of the market, and changes in the platform's information structure. I then explore market structure and regulation in two in-depth applications. The first is monopolistic competition between firms on a retail platform such as Amazon. The second is a multi-channel video program distributor (MVPD) negotiating transfer fees with television channels and bundling these to sell to individuals.

econ.TH↗

arXiv2020

Screening and Information-Sharing Externalities

In many settings, multiple uninformed agents bargain simultaneously with a single informed agent in each of multiple periods. For example, workers and firms negotiate each year over salaries, and the firm has private information about the value of workers' output. I study the effects of transparency in these settings; uninformed agents may observe others' past bargaining outcomes, e.g. wages. I show that in equilibrium, each uninformed agent will choose in each period whether to try to separate the informed agent's types (screen) or receive the same outcome regardless of type (pool). In other words, the agents engage in a form of experimentation via their bargaining strategies. There are two main theoretical insights. First, there is a complementary screening effect: the more agents screen in equilibrium, the lower the information rents that each will have to pay. Second, the payoff of the informed agent will have a certain supermodularity property, which implies that equilibria with screening are "fragile" to deviations by uninformed agents. I apply the results to study pay-secrecy regulations and anti-discrimination policy. I show that, surprisingly, penalties for pay discrimination have no impact on bargaining outcomes. I discuss how this result depends on the legal framework for discrimination cases, and suggest changes to enhance the efficacy of anti-discrimination regulations. In particular, anti-discrimination law should preclude the so-called "salary negotiation defense".

econ.TH↗