Imitation Processes with Small Mutations
| Title: | Imitation Processes with Small Mutations |
| Author: |
Imhof, Lorens; Fudenberg, Drew
Note: Order does not necessarily reflect citation order of authors. |
| Citation: | Fudenberg, Drew, and Lorens A. Imhof. 2006. Imitation processes with small mutations. Journal of Economic Theory 131, no. 1: 251-262. |
| Full Text & Related Files: |
imitation.pdf (162.2Kb; PDF) 
|
| Abstract: | This note characterizes the impact of adding rare stochastic mutations to an “imitation dynamic,” meaning a process with the properties that absent strategies remain absent, and non-homogeneous states are transient. The resulting system will spend almost all of its time at the absorbing states of the no-mutation process. The work of Freidlin and Wentzell [Random Perturbations of Dynamical Systems, Springer, New York, 1984] and its extensions provide a general algorithm for calculating the limit distribution, but this algorithm can be complicated to apply. This note provides a simpler and more intuitive algorithm. Loosely speaking, in a process with K strategies, it is sufficient to find the invariant distribution of a K×K Markov matrix on the K homogeneous states, where the probability of a transit from “all play i” to “all play j” is the probability of a transition from the state “all agents but 1 play i, 1 plays j” to the state “all play j”. |
| Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jet.2005.04.006 |
| Terms of Use: | This article is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of-use#LAA |
| Citable link to this page: | http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:3190369 |
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
-
FAS Scholarly Articles [5137]
Peer reviewed scholarly articles from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of Harvard University
Contact administrator regarding this item (to report mistakes or request changes)
