The Primacy of Information Design Over Algorithm Selection in Multi-Agent Cooperation
Jien Weng Lai, Wei Lun Tan, Ying Loong Lee, Ming Fai Chow · Under Review
Mar 2026
Abstract

A full-factorial experiment in the Public Goods Game shows that information regime and incentive strength explain 85.8% of cooperation-rate variance; algorithm choice accounts for just 3.8%. Agents with the least information cooperate most (83% vs 42% under full observation), attributable to state-space compression. TreeSHAP and Shapley-variance decomposition confirm information structure, not algorithm selection is the primary design lever for cooperation.

  • Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning
  • Public Goods Game
  • Information Design
  • Cooperation
Jien Weng Lai · Under Review
Mar 2026
Abstract

Studies optimal trade execution strategies that incorporate predictive alpha signals, bridging market microstructure theory with practical quantitative trading. Preprint available on SSRN.

  • Quantitative Finance
  • Optimal Execution
  • Alpha Signals
  • Market Microstructure