Convergence of Local Dynamics to Balanced Outcomes in Exchange Networks
Computer Science and Game Theory
2009-07-27 v1 Data Structures and Algorithms
Abstract
Bargaining games on exchange networks have been studied by both economists and sociologists. A Balanced Outcome for such a game is an equilibrium concept that combines notions of stability and fairness. In a recent paper, Kleinberg and Tardos introduced balanced outcomes to the computer science community and provided a polynomial-time algorithm to compute the set of such outcomes. Their work left open a pertinent question: are there natural, local dynamics that converge quickly to a balanced outcome? In this paper, we provide a partial answer to this question by showing that simple edge-balancing dynamics converge to a balanced outcome whenever one exists.
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Cite
@article{arxiv.0907.4356,
title = {Convergence of Local Dynamics to Balanced Outcomes in Exchange Networks},
author = {Yossi Azar and Benjamin Birnbaum and L. Elisa Celis and Nikhil R. Devanur and Yuval Peres},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0907.4356},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
Full version of FOCS 2009 paper