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The impact of perceived strength in the war of attrition

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  • Myatt, David P.

Abstract

In a war of attrition a player's perceived strength is the distribution describing beliefs about her valuation. Small asymmetries in strength have a large effect: in the unique equilibrium of a game with a deadline the war ends quickly (instantly, as the deadline becomes infinite) with a concession by the (perceived) weaker player. The ranking of strength compares hazard rates in the upper tails of the distributions of beliefs; greater uncertainty about a player tends to give her more strength. The results also hold if techniques other than a deadline are used to obtain a unique equilibrium.

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  • Myatt, David P., 2025. "The impact of perceived strength in the war of attrition," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 260-277.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:gamebe:v:150:y:2025:i:c:p:260-277
    DOI: 10.1016/j.geb.2025.01.001
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