Data and Code for: Information Transmission under the Shadow of the Future

We experimentally examine how information transmission functions in an ongoing relationship. Where the one-shot cheap-talk literature documents substantial over-communication and preferences for honesty, in our repeated setting the outcomes are more consistent with uninformative babbling outcomes. This is particularly surprising as honest revelation is supportable as an equilibrium outcome in our repeated setting. We show that inefficient outcomes are driven by a coordination failure on how to distribute the gains from information sharing. However, when agents can coordinate on the payment of an “information rent,” honest revelation emerges.<br><br>This repository contains code, data, and experimental software. The experimental data was collected at the University of Pittsburgh, where all subjects provided informed consent to participate, and the research was approved by the University of Pittsburgh Institutional Review Board (PRO15080059)