Rapid evolution under inertia

Working paper

This paper demonstrates that inertia driven by switching costs leads to more rapid evolution in a class of games that includes m x m pure coordination games. Under the best-response dynamic and a fixed rate of mutation, the expected waiting time to reach long-run equilibrium is of lower order in the presence of switching costs, due to the creation of new absorbing inertia states that allow Ellison's (Review of Economic Studies 67, 2000, 17-45) step-by-step evolution to occur.

Authors: Norman, T

• Publication status: Published
• Publisher: University of Oxford
• Series: Department of Economics Discussion Paper Series
• Publication date: 2007-01-01
• Paper number: 299
• Keywords: mutations; long-run equilibrium; switching costs; waiting times; inertia; evolution