Revealed reputations in the finitely repeated prisoners’ dilemma

B-Tier
Journal: Economic Theory
Year: 2015
Volume: 58
Issue: 3
Pages: 441-484

Authors (4)

Caleb Cox (not in RePEc) Matthew Jones (not in RePEc) Kevin Pflum (not in RePEc) Paul Healy (Ohio State University)

Score contribution per author:

0.503 = (α=2.01 / 4 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

In a sequential-move, finitely repeated prisoners’ dilemma game (FRPD), cooperation can be sustained if the first-mover believes her opponent might be a behavioral type who plays a tit-for-tat strategy in every period. We test this theory by revealing second-mover histories from an earlier FRPD experiment to their current opponent. Despite eliminating the possibility of reputation-building, aggregate cooperation actually increases when histories are revealed. Cooperative histories lead to increased trust, but negative histories do not cause decreased trust. We develop a behavioral model to explain these findings. Copyright Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2015

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:spr:joecth:v:58:y:2015:i:3:p:441-484
Journal Field
Theory
Author Count
4
Added to Database
2026-01-25