IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/
MyIDEAS: Log in (now much improved!) to save this paper

Axiomatic Equilibrium Selection For Generic Two-Player Games

Author Info

  • SRIHARI GOVINDAN
  • ROBERT WILSON

Abstract

We apply three axioms adapted from decision theory to refinements of the Nash equilibria of games with perfect recall that select connected closed sub- sets called solutions. No player uses a weakly dominated strategy in an equilibrium in a solution. Each solution contains a quasi-perfect equilibrium and thus a sequential equilibrium in strategies that provide conditionally admissible optimal continuations from information sets. A refinement is immune to embedding a game in a larger game with additional players provided the original players' strategies and payoffs are preserved, i.e. solutions of a game are the same as those induced by the solutions of any larger game in which it is embedded. For games with two players and generic payoffs, we prove that these axioms characterize each solution as an essential component of equilibria in undominated strategies, and thus a stable set as defined by Mertens (1989).

(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Download Info

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. 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.

File URL: http://www.dklevine.com/archive/refs4661465000000000203.pdf
Download Restriction: no

Paper provided by David K. Levine in its series Levine's Working Paper Archive with number 661465000000000203.

as
in new window

Length:
Date of creation: 06 Oct 2010
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:cla:levarc:661465000000000203
Contact details of provider: Web page: http://www.dklevine.com/

Keywords:

Other versions of this item:

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

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

References listed on IDEAS
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.:

as in new window
  1. Mailath, G. & Samuelson, L. & Swinkels, J., 1991. "Extensive form reasoning in normal form games," Discussion Paper 1991-30, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
  2. KOHLBERG, Elon & MERTENS, Jean-François, . "On the strategic stability of equilibria," CORE Discussion Papers RP 716, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
  3. Wilson, Robert B. & Govindan, Srihari, 2006. "Sufficient conditions for stable equilibria," Theoretical Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 1(2), pages 167-206, June.
  4. Srihari Govindan & Robert Wilson, 2006. "On Forward Induction," Levine's Working Paper Archive 321307000000000618, David K. Levine.
  5. P. Reny, 2010. "Common Belief and the Theory of Games with Perfect Information," Levine's Working Paper Archive 386, David K. Levine.
  6. Philip J. Reny, 1992. "Rationality in Extensive-Form Games," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 6(4), pages 103-118, Fall.
  7. Govindan, Srihari & Wilson, Robert, 2001. "Direct Proofs of Generic Finiteness of Nash Equilibrium Outcomes," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 69(3), pages 765-69, May.
  8. Srihari Govindan & Robert Wilson, 2002. "Maximal stable sets of two-player games," International Journal of Game Theory, Springer;Game Theory Society, vol. 30(4), pages 557-566.
  9. Srihari Govindan & Robert Wilson, 2006. "Metastable Equilibria," Levine's Bibliography 122247000000001211, UCLA Department of Economics.
  10. Srihari Govindan & Jean-François Mertens, 2004. "An equivalent definition of stable Equilibria," International Journal of Game Theory, Springer;Game Theory Society, vol. 32(3), pages 339-357, 06.
  11. Srihari Govindan & Robert Wilson, 2009. "Axiomatic Theory of Equilibrium Selection for Games with Two Players, Perfect Information, and Generic Payoffs," Levine's Working Paper Archive 814577000000000125, David K. Levine.
  12. Reny, Philip J, 1992. "Backward Induction, Normal Form Perfection and Explicable Equilibria," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 60(3), pages 627-49, May.
  13. MERTENS, Jean-François, . "The small worlds axiom for stable equilibria," CORE Discussion Papers RP 1015, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
  14. Srihari Govindan & Tilman Klumpp, 2003. "Perfect equilibrium and lexicographic beliefs," International Journal of Game Theory, Springer;Game Theory Society, vol. 31(2), pages 229-243.
  15. Van Damme, Eric, 2002. "Strategic equilibrium," Handbook of Game Theory with Economic Applications, in: R.J. Aumann & S. Hart (ed.), Handbook of Game Theory with Economic Applications, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 41, pages 1521-1596 Elsevier.
  16. van Damme, E.E.C., 1984. "A relation between perfect equilibria in extensive form games and proper equilibria in normal form games," Other publications TiSEM 3734d89e-fd5c-4c80-a230-5, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
  17. Mertens, J.-F., 1988. "Stable equilibria - a reformulation," CORE Discussion Papers 1988038, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
  18. Koller, Daphne & Megiddo, Nimrod, 1992. "The complexity of two-person zero-sum games in extensive form," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 4(4), pages 528-552, October.
Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.

as in new window


Cited by:

  1. Man, Priscilla T.Y., 2012. "Forward induction equilibrium," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 75(1), pages 265-276.
  2. Yildiz, Muhamet, 2015. "Invariance to representation of information," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 142-156.
  3. Carlos Pimienta & Jianfei Shen, 2011. "On the Equivalence between (Quasi)-perfect and sequential equilibria," Discussion Papers 2012-01, School of Economics, The University of New South Wales.

This item is not listed on Wikipedia, on a reading list or among the top items on IDEAS.

Access and download statistics

When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cla:levarc:661465000000000203. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: (David K. Levine)

If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

If references are entirely missing, you can add them using this form.

If the full references list an item that is present in RePEc, but the system did not link to it, you can help with this form.

If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Research Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis using RePEc data.