Asymmetric Information and Ranked Information Are Equivalent in Making Information Utilization Heterogeneous

Abstract

In information economics, any piece of information is assumed to have the same value across people, even if the information is distributed asymmetrically. However, in actuality, information has different values across people, even if it is distributed equally, because people utilize the same information differently and reach different conclusions with it. In this paper, I construct a model of heterogeneous information utilization by introducing the concept of ranked information. I conclude that the effects of asymmetric information and ranked information on economic activities are essentially equivalent. However, there are still some differences between them, and ranked information will be more economically important than asymmetric information. Furthermore, ranked information can cause an extreme economic inequality.