Jiayin Zhai
Jiayin Zhai
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Hello, my name is Jiayin Zhai. I am a PhD candidate in Economics at UCLA, specializing in information design and dynamic learning.
My research studies how information, incentives, and market structure shape learning and decision-making in strategic environments.
You can download my CV here and reach me at ✉️ jiayinz06@ucla.edu.
Research
Research
Working Papers
Working Papers
The Optimal Level of Consultation (Job Market Paper) [full draft]
This paper studies how an information provider chooses how much precision to offer when a consumer pays to learn before acting. I show that providers may optimally give the least precise information to the most uncertain users in order to prolong engagement and extract more value. The model has applications to digital search platforms and advisory markets.
Work in Progress
Work in Progress
Experimentation with Asymmetric Observation
This paper studies how asymmetric observation shapes experimentation and exit decisions in dynamic R&D settings, with implications for subsidy design and disclosure policy.
Evolving Social Norms on Networks
This paper studies how social interactions on networks shape the evolution of norms, and when local influence leads to consensus, persistent disagreement, or coordination failure.
Teaching
Teaching
Course Instructor
ECON 101: Microeconomic Theory - 2024 Summer (Rating: 8.25/9.00)
Teaching Assistant
ECON 201B: First-year Ph.D. Game Theory
2022 Winter (9.00/9.00)
ECON 106I: Organizational Economics
2024 Fall(8.40/9.00); 2024 Winter (8.25/9.00)
ECON 106G: Introduction to Game Theory
2024 Spring
ECON 101: Microeconomic Theory
2022 Fall(8.30/9.00); 2022 Winter (8.77/9.00)
ECON 103: Introduction to Econometrics
2022 Summer(9.00/9.00); 2023 Fall (8.40/9.00); 2025 Winter(8.00/9.00); 2025 Spring (8.50/9.00); 2025 Summer(8.43/9.00)
ECON 41: Probability and Statistics
2021 Spring(8.40/9.00); 2021 Fall (8.25/9.00); 2022 Spring(8.40/9.00)
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