An approximate solution to rent-seeking contests with private information

We propose an approximate solution to rent-seeking contests in which participants have heterogeneous and private valuations. The procedure only requires common knowledge about the mean of the distribution of valuations. We obtain a closed-form expression for an agent's level of investment and subject it to comparative statics analysis. We then assess the performance of the model and find that the proposed solution provides a remarkably effective approximation of the optimal solution for a wide range of parameter specifications.