how communication mitigates this free-riding problem in an investment-timing game. In our baseline investment-timing game … investor of the group bears the costs of investment while everyone in the group benefits if the project reveals high returns … communicate before choosing the investment time. We find that in groups of two players, communication increases cooperation and …

equilibrium. The theory's predictions are empirically testable and shed light on the variety of certifiers across markets and over …

investment timings. Players choose when to invest in a nonrival project with uncertain returns. The earliest investor bears the … costs of investment and all players learn whether the project is of good or bad quality. Informational externalities create … free-riding incentives resulting in strategic delays in investment timings. Our theoretical analysis suggests that …