Strategic Complexity and the Value of Thinking

Bibliographic Data

ID9719864
AuthorsDavid Gill (0000-0003-3319-8722, Purdue University , USA), Victoria Prowse (Purdue University , USA), Victoria L Prowse (0009-0008-8803-5190, Purdue University West Lafayette, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume133
Issue650
Pages761-786
Publication date2023-01-13
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Economic Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0013-0133 • E-ISSN: 1468-0297
PublisherOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/ej/ueac070
OpenAlexW4300972191
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited63

We leverage response-time data from repeated strategic interactions to measure the strategic complexity of a situation by how long people think on average when they face that situation (where we categorise situations according to characteristics of play in the previous round). We find that strategic complexity varies significantly across situations, and we find considerable heterogeneity in how responsive subjects’ thinking times are to complexity. We also study how variation in response times at the individual level affects success: when a subject thinks for longer than she would normally do in a particular situation, she wins less frequently and earns less

Economics · Face (sociological concept · Leverage (statistics · Management · Microeconomics · Social science · Sociology · Statistics · Strategic planning · Strategic thinking · Subject (documents · Value (mathematics · Variation (astronomy · Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science · Cultural Differences and Values · Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics · Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies · Mathematics · Psychology

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