Essays in Information and Behavior

This dissertation comprises three essays in behavioral and information economics. The first, “Estimating Information Cost Functions in Models of Rational Inattention,” uses laboratory data to analyze the properties of cost functions in models of rational inattention and determine their functional forms. The second, “Promises and Pronouncements,” uses a laboratory experiment to determine whether the propensity to tell monetarily advantageous lies depends on the ability to control the final outcome; in other words, whether reneging on a commitment (breaking a promise) is more or less likely than lying about something out of one’s control (making a false pronouncement). The third, “Costly Information and Multiattribute Choice” provides an information-theoretic explanation for some commonly observed phenomena in consumer choice when goods are defined by multiple characteristics.