Abstract
A decision maker (DM) prefers to allocate a limited number of prizes to the highest-quality agents. She can learn about quality by reviewing some agents before awarding prizes. We introduce “Contests for Attention,” where agents make payments in competition for the DMs' limited attention. In equilibrium, the DM learns about agent quality directly through the review process and indirectly by observing contest payments. She becomes informed about the quality of all agents, even though she only reviews some of them. The analysis characterizes the set of full-information contests, including the payment-maximizing contest, and discusses implications for political lobbying.
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