Antoni Bosch-Domènech , Universitat Pompeu Fabra and CREA, Barcelona Nicolaas J. Vriend , Queen Mary, University of London
February 1, 2008
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Considering a pure coordination game with a large number of equivalent equilibria, we argue, first, that a focal point that is itself not a Nash equilibrium and is Pareto dominated by all Nash equilibria, may attract the players' choices. Second, we argue that such a non-equilibrium focal point may act as an equilibrium selection device that the players use to coordinate on a closely related small subset of Nash equilibria. We present theoretical as well as experimental support for these two new roles of focal points as coordination devices.
J.E.L classification codes: C72, C91
Keywords:Coordination game, Focal point, Nash equilibrium, Equilibrium selection, Coordination device