Effect of redundant paths on bottlenecks in general directed networks

Ascertain whether, in general directed networks with overlapping expert–decision maker routes under the paper’s dynamic reputational disclosure model with verifiable signals and observable disclosure clocks, the presence of redundant paths typically relaxes information bottlenecks by enabling the bypass of locally biased intermediaries and by strengthening pre-emption incentives, relative to tree networks.

Background

The network analysis focuses on trees because overlapping routes introduce strategic interactions (free-riding and pre-emption) that complicate equilibrium characterization. A full characterization of MPBE in general graphs is left beyond scope.

The authors conjecture that redundancy—multiple paths connecting experts to the decision maker—often mitigates bottlenecks by allowing evidence to bypass biased intermediaries and by intensifying pre-emption incentives, potentially improving disclosure speed and completeness. Establishing conditions under which redundancy systematically relaxes bottlenecks would extend the tree-based results to general graphs.