Finitely repeated games with monitoring options

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Miyahara, Yasuyuki; Sekiguchi, Tadashi
• 署名单位: Kobe University; Kyoto University
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC THEORY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-0531
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jet.2013.07.011
• 发表日期: 2013
• 页码: 1929-1952
• 关键词: Finitely repeated games; imperfect monitoring; folk theorem

摘要

We study finitely repeated games where players can decide whether to monitor the other players' actions or not every period. Monitoring is assumed to be costless and private. We compare our model with the standard one where the players automatically monitor each other. Since monitoring other players never hurts, any equilibrium payoff vector of a standard finitely repeated game is an equilibrium payoff vector of the same game with monitoring options. We show that some finitely repeated games with monitoring options have sequential equilibrium outcomes which cannot be sustained under the standard model, even if the stage game has a unique Nash equilibrium. We also present sufficient conditions for a folk theorem, when the players have a long horizon. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.