On the Connection between Persuasion and Delegation

[preliminary] We compare two problems. One is the monotone Bayesian persuasion problem in which messages are monotone functions of state realizations. Another is the delegation problem with an extra assumption that extreme actions are always permitted. (E.g., an employee may need the employer’s permission to reduce the job involvement to part time, but no permission is needed to remain at full time or to quit the job entirely.) We prove that these problems are equivalent, in the sense that one problem can be mapped into the other. We use this equivalence to apply known techniques in the persuasion literature to the delegation problem, and vice versa. JEL Classification: D82, D83, D86