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On the Evolution of Imitative Behavior

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Author Info
Jonas Bjoernerstedt
Karl H. Schlag

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Abstract

We analyze the evolution of behavioral rules for learning how to play a two-armed bandit. Individuals have no information about the underlying pay-off distributions and have limited memory about their own past experience. Instead they must rely on information obtained through observing the per-formance of other individuals. Evolution is modelled using the replicator dynamic with the revision behaviors as replicators. We find that evolution favors a special class of imitative rules. These so-called strictly improving rules (Schlag, 1996) are found to be neutrally stable when facing any two-armed bandit. Further emphasis is put on which rules survive when.

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Paper provided by ESRC Centre on Economics Learning and Social Evolution in its series ELSE working papers with number 029.

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Handle: RePEc:els:esrcls:029

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Related research
Keywords: multi-armed bandit; social learning; payoff increasing; propor- tional imitation rule; replicator dynamic; neutral stability; survival.;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
C72 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Noncooperative Games
C79 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Other

References listed on IDEAS
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  1. Bjornerstedt, J. & Weibull, J.W., 1993. "Nash Equilibrium and Evolution by Imitation," DELTA Working Papers 93-23, DELTA (Ecole normale supérieure).
  2. Schlag, Karl H., 1998. "Why Imitate, and If So, How?, : A Boundedly Rational Approach to Multi-armed Bandits," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 78(1), pages 130-156, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  3. Dekel, Eddie & Scotchmer, Suzanne, 1992. "On the evolution of optimizing behavior," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 57(2), pages 392-406, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Karl H. Schlag, 1995. "Why Imitate, and if so, How? A Bounded Rational Approach to Multi-Armed Bandits," Discussion Paper Serie B 361, University of Bonn, Germany, revised Mar 1996. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Droste, E. & Tuinstra, J., 1998. "Evolutionary selection of behavioral rules in a Cournot model : a local bifurcation analysis," Discussion Paper 86, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
  3. Fernando Vega-Redondo, 1999. "Markets under bounded rationality: from theory to facts," Investigaciones Economicas, Fundación SEPI, vol. 23(1), pages 3-26, January. [Downloadable!]
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This page was last updated on 2009-11-25.

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