Tacit Coordination in Games with Third-Party Externalities
57 Pages
Posted: 3 Oct 2013
The University of Toledo, Department of Economics
New York University (NYU) - New York University Abu Dhabi
Date Written: October 2013
Abstract
When agents face coordination problems their choices often impose externalities on third parties. We investigate whether such externalities can affect equilibrium selection in a series of one-shot coordination games varying the size and the sign of the externality. We find that third-party externalities have a limited effect on decisions. A large majority of participants in the experiment are willing to take an action that increases their income slightly, even if doing so causes substantial inequalities and reductions in overall efficiency. Individuals revealed to be other-regarding in a non-strategic allocation task often behave as-if selfish when trying to coordinate.
Keywords: social preferences, efficiency, externalities, tacit coordination, equilibrium selection
JEL Classification: D63, D01, D62, C90, D03
Suggested Citation:
Suggested Citation
Bland, James R. and Nikiforakis, Nikos, Tacit Coordination in Games with Third-Party Externalities (October 2013). MPI Collective Goods Preprint, No. 2013/19. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2334738 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2334738
