Meeting at Penn Station

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee Cronk ◽  
Beth L. Leech
Keyword(s):  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Collective Action ◽  
Real World ◽  
Common Knowledge ◽  
Coordination Games ◽  
Focal Points ◽  
Coordination Problems ◽  
Battle Of The Sexes ◽  
Penn Station ◽  
Thomas Schelling

This chapter discusses coordination problems in relation to cooperation. Coordination problems are essentially problems of information: although people would benefit from coordinating their activities, they lack common knowledge about how to do so. Even worse, they may actually have common knowledge about how to solve the problem but not know it. Thomas Schelling recognized one way to overcome this problem: focus on prominent, salient focal points that others are also likely to focus on. The chapter first examines the so-called “Theory of Mind” or “mentalizing” before explaining how collective action dilemmas can become coordination problems. It also explores trust and conflict in coordination games such as Stag Hunt Games and the Battle of the Sexes Game, concluding with anti-coordination games and how coordination operates in the real world.

Cooperation, Coordination, and Collective Action

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee Cronk ◽  
Beth L. Leech
Keyword(s):  
Natural Selection ◽  
Collective Action ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Evolutionary Theory ◽  
Coordination Problems ◽  
Evolutionary Biologist ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Two Bodies

This book investigates a wide range of ideas, theories, and existing empirical research relevant to the study of the complex and diverse phenomenon of human cooperation. Issues relating to cooperation are examined from the perspective of evolutionary theory, political science, and related social sciences. The book draws upon two bodies of work: Mancur Olson's The Logic of Collective Action (1965) and George C. Williams's Adaptation and Natural Selection (1966). Olson, an economist, and Williams, an evolutionary biologist, both argued that a focus on groups would not provide a complete understanding of collective action and other social behaviors. This introductory chapter discusses some important definitions relating to cooperation, with particular emphasis on collective action and collective action dilemmas, along with coordination and coordination problems. It also provides an overview of the chapters that follow.

Coordinating Interests

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Sabl
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Common Interest ◽  
Coordination Problems ◽  
The Real

This chapter examines a neglected precondition for coordination problems' existing in the first place: the actors involved must share a common interest in coordinating their actions that outweighs whatever interest they have in not coordinating them. This condition is often taken for granted but is in the real world not trivial. Historically, the process involved great bloodshed, multiple reversals, and lots of politics: a mix of strategy, seduction, rhetoric, and above all a “great mixture of accident, which commonly concurs with a small ingredient of wisdom and foresight, in erecting the complicated fabric of the most perfect government.” The chapter also explores how Hume's approach to coordination avowedly requires seeking out innovative sources of common interest that might not at first appear.

Bounded Rationality in Strategic Decisions: Undershooting in a Resource Pool-Choice Dilemma

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher K. Hsee ◽  
Ying Zeng ◽  
Xilin Li ◽  
Alex Imas
Keyword(s):  
Bounded Rationality ◽  
Real World ◽  
Coordination Games ◽  
Strategic Thinking ◽  
Strategic Decisions ◽  
Random Choice ◽  
Present Evidence ◽  
Knowing That ◽  
Job Opportunities ◽  
The Relationship

This research studies a resource pool-choice dilemma, in which a group of resource seekers independently choose between a larger pool containing more resources and a smaller pool containing fewer resources, knowing that the resources in each pool will be divided equally among its choosers, so that the more (fewer) people choose a certain pool, the fewer (more) resources each of them will get. This setting corresponds to many real-world situations, ranging from students choosing majors as a function of job opportunities to entrepreneurs choosing markets as a function of customer bases. Ten studies reveal a systematic undershooting bias: fewer people choose the larger pool relative to both the normative equilibrium benchmark and chance (random choice), thus advantaging those who choose the larger pool and disadvantaging those who choose the smaller pool. We present evidence showing that the undershooting bias is driven by bounded rationality in strategic thinking and discuss the relationship between our paradigm and other coordination games. This paper was accepted by Yuval Rottenstreich, decision analysis.

Code, and Other Laws of Blockchain†

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 645-665
Author(s):  
Mimi Zou
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Legal System ◽  
Real World ◽  
Smart Contracts ◽  
Focal Points ◽  
Relational Analysis ◽  
Blockchain Technology ◽  
The Law

Abstract There has been burgeoning interest among legal scholars in recent years regarding the implications of blockchain technology for the law. Two thoughtful monographs that go beyond the hyped claims of enthusiasts and cynics are Primavera De Filippi and Aaron Wright’s Blockchain and the Law: The Rule of Code and Kevin Werbach’s Blockchain and the New Architecture of Trust. While the two books have different focal points, both contain a common Laurence-Lessig-inspired theme of ‘code as law’ in which decentralised blockchain networks are viewed as a regulatory ‘modality’ or ‘architecture’ with its own system of rules. However, as this article argues, blockchain is not outside the law or the existing legal system. Code necessarily interacts with other modes of regulation, namely the market, social norms and law, in constraining the operation of blockchain applications such as smart contracts. This argument also situates smart contracts in a relational analysis of real-world contracting practices.

Corporate communication in the emerging network economy

2004 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolai J. Foss ◽  
Tore Kristensen ◽  
Ricky Wilke
Keyword(s):  
Common Knowledge ◽  
Simple Game ◽  
Corporate Communication ◽  
Theoretic Model ◽  
Network Economy ◽  
Coordination Problems ◽  
Knowledge Requirements ◽  
Game Theoretic ◽  
The Common ◽  
Game Theoretic Model

This paper draws on ideas in economics and game theory to develop a new theory of marketing in the emerging network economy. The paper argues that in a network economy, firms and consumers will confront “coordination problems”. With the emerging network economy all this becomes urgent because the availability and cost of information decreases. Also, timing issues become urgent as millions of people get access to the same information simultaneously. That explains why events where masses of viewers simultaneously participate in the same events become so important. The paper introduces a simple game theoretic model and discusses marketing applications and possible strategies. These strategies imply considerable use of communication resources in order to fulfil the common knowledge requirements.

Economics of Alliances: The Lessons for Collective Action

2001 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 869-896 ◽  
Author(s):  
Todd Sandler ◽  
Keith Hartley
Keyword(s):  
Collective Action ◽  
Public Good ◽  
Real World ◽  
Pivotal Role ◽  
Burden Sharing ◽  
Empirical Knowledge ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Real World Applications ◽  
Further Development

This essay provides an up-to-date summary of the findings of the literature on the economics of alliances. We show that the study of the economics of alliances has played a pivotal role in understanding and applying public good analysis to real-world applications. We establish that the manner in which alliances address burden sharing and allocative issues is related to strategic doctrines, weapon technology, perceived threats, and membership composition. Past contributions are evaluated, and areas needing further development are identified. The theoretical and empirical knowledge gained from the study of alliances is shown to be directly applicable to a wide range of international collectives.

scholarly journals The disconnect between researcher ambitions and reality in achieving impact in the Earth & Environmental Sciences – narrowing the gap

F1000Research ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 36
Author(s):  
Andrew Kelly ◽  
Victoria Gardner ◽  
Anna Gilbert
Keyword(s):  
Collective Action ◽  
Real World ◽  
Environmental Science ◽  
Response Rate ◽  
Environmental Sciences ◽  
Global Society ◽  
Research Journal ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Research Endeavour ◽  
Real World Problems

Background: There is an increasing desire for research to provide solutions to the grand challenges facing our global society, such as those expressed in the UN SDGs (“real-world impact”). Herein, we consider whether the frameworks that underpin the research endeavour are appropriately oriented to support these aspirations and maximize the capability of research to achieve these goals. Methods: We conducted a survey of authors who had published in >100 of our Earth & Environmental Science journals. The survey was sent to just under 60,000 authors and we received 2,695 responses (4% response rate).   Results: Respondents indicated that the majority of their research in the Earth & Environmental Sciences is currently concerned with addressing urgent global needs or that this will become a priority in the future; however, the impetus seems to be altruistic researcher desire, rather than incentives or support from publishers, funders, or their institutions. Indeed, when contextualised within other forms of impact, respondents indicated that citations or downloads were more important to them than contributing to tackling real-world problems. Herein, we analyse survey feedback, suggest the presence of a misalignment between researcher ambition and current realities, and discuss the role and value of the research journal in forming new connections for their researchers, both within and without academia. Conclusions: At present, it seems that this laudable ambition of achieving real-world impact is seemingly being lost amidst the realities of being a researcher. We offer for comment a series of suggestions, with the aim of simulating discussion and collective action to tackle these challenges as a community.

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