Laboratory Experiment as a Method of Equilibrium Selection: An Examination of a Voting Model

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to show how we can make use of laboratory experiment as a method of equilibrium selection in a voting model that has multiple Nash equilibria. We first analyze this problem of equilibrium selection from a theoretical point of view, such as bloc voting. Then we examine the theoretical predictions by using data obtained from Kurosaka, Hizen and Yoshino’s (2010) laboratory experiment. Our data analysis shows that different Nash equilibria can be realized according to sessions and rounds, but a common characteristic, which is partially consistent with the theoretical predictions, is found between sessions.