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An Approach to Bounded Rationality

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  • Eli Ben-Sasson
  • Adam Tauman Kalai
  • Ehud Kalai

Abstract

A central question in game theory and artificial intelligence is how a rational agent should behave in a complex environment, given that it cannot perform unbounded computations. We study strategic aspects of this question by formulating a simple model of a game with additional costs (computational or otherwise) for each strategy. First we connect this to zero-sum games, proving a counter-intuitive generalization of the classic min-max theorem to zero-sum games with the addition of strategy costs. We then show that potential games with strategy costs remain potential games. Both zero-sum and potential games with strategy costs maintain a very appealing property: simple learning dynamics converge to equilibrium.

Suggested Citation

  • Eli Ben-Sasson & Adam Tauman Kalai & Ehud Kalai, 2006. "An Approach to Bounded Rationality," Discussion Papers 1439, Northwestern University, Center for Mathematical Studies in Economics and Management Science.
    • Handle: RePEc:nwu:cmsems:1439
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Jiang, Albert Xin & Leyton-Brown, Kevin & Bhat, Navin A.R., 2011. "Action-Graph Games," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 71(1), pages 141-173, January.
    2. Waters, George A., 2009. "Chaos in the cobweb model with a new learning dynamic," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 1201-1216, June.
    3. Lance Fortnow & Rahul Santhanam, 2009. "Bounding Rationality by Discounting Time," Discussion Papers 1481, Northwestern University, Center for Mathematical Studies in Economics and Management Science.
    4. Hubie Chen, 2013. "Bounded rationality, strategy simplification, and equilibrium," International Journal of Game Theory, Springer;Game Theory Society, vol. 42(3), pages 593-611, August.
    5. Halpern, Joseph Y. & Pass, Rafael, 2015. "Algorithmic rationality: Game theory with costly computation," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 246-268.

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    Keywords

    bounded rationality; zero sum games; potential games; strategic complexity.;
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