Author: Assistant Professor of Classics Joseph Farrell

Publisher:

Published: 2015-08-05

Total Pages: 48

ISBN-13: 9781332256464

Excerpt from Coordination Through Committees and Markets We discuss three common mechanisms for achieving coordination, with particular reference to the choice of compatibility standards. The first involves explicit communication and negotiation before irrevocable choices are made: it represents what standardization committees do. The second mechanism, by contrast, involves no explicit communication, and depends on unilateral irrevocable choices: it succeeds if one agent chooses first and the other(s) follow. This is a simple version of market leadership. We analyze these two mechanisms in a simple model, and show that the committee is more likely to achieve coordination. Moreover, although it is slower, it outperforms the market mechanism, even when we allow for the value of speed. Third, we examine a hybrid of the first two mechanisms, in which both talk and unilateral preemptive actions are allowed. We show that, far from marring its performance, unilateral actions improve upon the committee system. This hybrid system more closely resembles the committee system the more important coordination is, relative to conflict. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.