Empirical Implications of Information Structure in Finite Extensive Form Games
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Jose Penalva
We analyze what can be inferred about a game's information structure solely from the probability distributions on action profiles generated during play; i.e., without reference to special behavioral assumptions or equilibrium concepts. Our analysis focuses on deriving payoff-independent conditions that must be met for one game form to be empirically distinguished from another. We define empirical equivalence and independence equivalence. The first describes when two game forms can never be distinguished based solely on the empirical distribution of player actions. As this turns out to be difficult to characterize, we introduce the latter, which describes two game forms that imply the same minimal sets of conditional independencies in every one of their empirical distributions. Our main contribution is to identify, for an arbitrary game form, the minimal set of conditional independencies that must arise in every one of its empirical distributions. We also introduce a new graphical device, the influence opportunity diagram of a game form which facilitates verifying independence equivalence, and hence provides a simple necessary condition for empirical equivalence.
©2011 Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
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- When Stackelberg and Cournot Equilibria Coincide
- Conflict and Consensus: A Theory of Control in Organisations
- Backward Integrated Information Gatekeepers and Independent Divisions in the Product Market
- Identification of Individual Demands from Market Data under Uncertainty
- On the Role of Uncertainty in the Risk-Incentives Tradeoff
- Time-to-Build and the Inverse U-Shape Investment-Uncertainty Relationship
- Revisiting Independence and Stochastic Dominance for Compound Lotteries
- On Competitive Equilibria with Asymmetric Information
- A Duopoly Location Toolkit: Consumer Densities Which Yield Unique Spatial Duopoly Equilibria
- Purchasing Power Parity with Strategic Markets
- Global vs. Local Information in (Anti-)Coordination Problems with Imitators
- Costly Evidence Production and the Limits of Verifiability
- Research Joint Ventures, Optimal Licensing, and the R&D Subsidy Policy
- Comparative Statics and Welfare in Heterogeneous All-Pay Auctions: Bribes, Caps, and Performance Thresholds
- Ex Post Private Information and Monopolistic Screening
- Passing the Buck in Sequential Negotiation
- Bidding Strategies for Simultaneous Ascending Auctions
- The Dirty Face Problem with Unawareness
- Cost Pass-Through under Delegation
- Contributions Article
- Empirical Implications of Information Structure in Finite Extensive Form Games
- Counter Marginalization of Information Rents: Implementing Negatively Correlated Compensation Schemes for Colluding Parties
- Forgiving-Proof Equilibrium in Infinitely Repeated Games
- A Categorical Model of Cognition and Biased Decision Making
- Mechanism Design with Moderate Evidence Cost
- Connectivity and Allocation Rule in a Directed Network
- Competing for Recognition through Public Good Provision
- Principal-Agent Problems with Exit Options
- Herd Behavior and Contagion in Financial Markets
- A Constructive Proof that Learning in Repeated Games Leads to Nash Equilibria
- Advances Article
- The Full Surplus Extraction Theorem with Hidden Actions
Articles in the same Issue
- Topics Article
- When Stackelberg and Cournot Equilibria Coincide
- Conflict and Consensus: A Theory of Control in Organisations
- Backward Integrated Information Gatekeepers and Independent Divisions in the Product Market
- Identification of Individual Demands from Market Data under Uncertainty
- On the Role of Uncertainty in the Risk-Incentives Tradeoff
- Time-to-Build and the Inverse U-Shape Investment-Uncertainty Relationship
- Revisiting Independence and Stochastic Dominance for Compound Lotteries
- On Competitive Equilibria with Asymmetric Information
- A Duopoly Location Toolkit: Consumer Densities Which Yield Unique Spatial Duopoly Equilibria
- Purchasing Power Parity with Strategic Markets
- Global vs. Local Information in (Anti-)Coordination Problems with Imitators
- Costly Evidence Production and the Limits of Verifiability
- Research Joint Ventures, Optimal Licensing, and the R&D Subsidy Policy
- Comparative Statics and Welfare in Heterogeneous All-Pay Auctions: Bribes, Caps, and Performance Thresholds
- Ex Post Private Information and Monopolistic Screening
- Passing the Buck in Sequential Negotiation
- Bidding Strategies for Simultaneous Ascending Auctions
- The Dirty Face Problem with Unawareness
- Cost Pass-Through under Delegation
- Contributions Article
- Empirical Implications of Information Structure in Finite Extensive Form Games
- Counter Marginalization of Information Rents: Implementing Negatively Correlated Compensation Schemes for Colluding Parties
- Forgiving-Proof Equilibrium in Infinitely Repeated Games
- A Categorical Model of Cognition and Biased Decision Making
- Mechanism Design with Moderate Evidence Cost
- Connectivity and Allocation Rule in a Directed Network
- Competing for Recognition through Public Good Provision
- Principal-Agent Problems with Exit Options
- Herd Behavior and Contagion in Financial Markets
- A Constructive Proof that Learning in Repeated Games Leads to Nash Equilibria
- Advances Article
- The Full Surplus Extraction Theorem with Hidden Actions
