Selective Disclosure in Overlapping Generations

Abstract: We develop an overlapping generations model where each agent observes a verifiable private signal about the state and, with positive probability, also receives signals disclosed by his predecessor. The agent then takes an action and decides which signals to pass on. Each agent's action has a positive externality on his predecessor and his optimal action increases in his belief about the state. We show that as the communication friction vanishes, agents become increasingly selective in disclosing information. As the probability that messages reach the next generation approaches one, all signals except those with the highest likelihood ratio will be concealed in equilibrium.