Replication data for: Paging Inspector Sands: The Costs of Public Information

Name: Replication data for: Paging Inspector Sands: The Costs of Public Information
Published: 2014-02-01
License: This work is licensed under an Other license created by the data depositor. Please refer to the LICENSE file, which should be located alongside the project data and documentation.
Keywords: Information Economics

Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Sacha Kapoor; Arvind Magesan

Version: View help for Version V1

Name	File Type	Size	Last Modified
Data-and-Programs			10/26/2021 11:57:AM
LICENSE.txt	text/plain	14.6 KB	10/13/2019 03:54:AM

Project Citation:

Kapoor, Sacha, and Magesan, Arvind. Replication data for: Paging Inspector Sands: The Costs of Public Information. Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2014. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2019-10-13. https://doi.org/10.3886/E114854V1

Project Description

Summary: We exploit the introduction of pedestrian countdown signals—timers that indicate when traffic lights will change—to evaluate a policy that improves the information of all market participants. We find that although countdown signals reduce the number of pedestrians struck by automobiles, they increase the number of collisions between automobiles. They also cause more collisions overall, implying that welfare gains can be attained by hiding the information from drivers. Whereas most empirical studies on the role of information in markets suggest that asymmetric information reduces welfare, we conclude that asymmetric information can, in fact, improve it.

Scope of Project

Subject Terms: Information Economics

JEL Classification:
      D82 Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design
      D83 Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
      R41 Transportation: Demand, Supply, and Congestion; Travel Time; Safety and Accidents; Transportation Noise

Geographic Coverage: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Time Period(s): 2004 – 2008

Data Type(s): event/transaction data; observational data

Collection Notes: Data was obtained from the University of Toronto Library.

Methodology

Data Source: Transportation Services Division of Toronto.

Unit(s) of Observation: automobile intersections by month,

Related Publications

Download this project

Published Versions

V1 [2019-10-13]

Export Metadata

Dublin Core

DDI 2.5

Report a Problem

Found a serious problem with the data, such as disclosure risk or copyrighted content? Let us know.

This material is distributed exactly as received from the data depositor. As of April 2026, depositors are required to submit study materials in accessible formats. ICPSR has not reviewed, checked, or processed this material. For additional information about the study, please contact the investigator(s) directly. If you have questions about the accessibility of materials distributed by ICPSR or require further assistance, please visit ICPSR's Accessibility Center.