We analyze group contests for public goods by applying the solution concept of an evolutionary stable strategy (ESS). We show that a global ESS cannot exist, because a mutant free-rider can always invade group behavior succesfully. There does exist, however, a unique local ESS, which we identify with evolutionary equilibrium. It coincides with Nash equilibrium, the hitherto dominant solution concept in contest theory, if and only if groups are symmetric. For asymmetric groups it always proposes a different and arguably more sensible solution than Nash equilibrium. We explore the properties of (local) ESS in detail.
Download Info
To download:
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the
proper application to
view it first. Information about this may be contained
in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read
the IDEAS help
page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS
site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
Publisher Info
Paper provided by University of Dortmund, Department of Economics in its series Discussion Papers in Economics with number
02_02.
For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Eva Borchard) The email address of this maintainer does not seem to be valid anymore. Please ask Eva Borchard to update the entry or send us the correct address..
Related research
Keywords:
This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports: