Gerald A. Harrison

Estimating the Returns to Information: A Gaming Approach

A management game incorporating key decisions in corn and soybean production was constructed. Participants in an experiment were asked to play the game by making a series of decisions. Some of the participants in the experiment were denied access to research information and/or feedback from the previous decision. Results of the experiment indicated a significant positive return to both information and learning from feedback.

Returns to Information: An Addendum

A 1975 Journal paper by the authors (Debertin et al.) utilized a computerized management game to measure the returns to information for Indiana corn and soybean producers. Results indicated a rather substantial return to information. However, estimates in the paper have been questioned by agricultural economists at Purdue, the University of Kentucky, and elsewhere because participants in the laboratory experiment were students, not experienced farmers. In response to these criticisms, a second experiment was conducted using experienced farmers as participants. The identical management game (Debertin, Harrison, and Rades) and a similar experimental design were used in both experiments.