Bilateral Trade under Information Asymmetry and Quantized Measurements

Bilateral trading games are considered in which the buyer has access to more accurate information about the seller's valuation. The accuracy of the information, acquired by the buyer, is captured using quantization levels. We study how the level of accuracy and the rule for setting the final price in the bilateral trade game change the probability of striking a deal between the parties as well as the expected payoff of various parties. We also quantify the information level that maximizes the gain in the payoff for the smallest price of research assuming that acquiring accurate information is costly.