Center for Political Studies
Institute for Social Research
University of Michigan
P.O. Box 1248
Ann Arbor, MI
48106-1248
Voice: (734) 763-1348
Fax: (734) 764-3341
Title
DHB Games Theory, Culture, and Institutional Path Dependence
Direct Source
NSF
Abstract
Our proposed research effort links the emergence and sway of culture -- behavior and belief systems -- with economic and political institutions. This research effort brings together a political scientist trained in the study of institutions, a complex systems scholar who connects mathematical and agent based models, and an experimental and theoretical economist who specializes in learning and public economics. All three investigators are well versed in game theory which will serve as a translating language between the various methodologies applied.
The proposed research consists of four parts. First, the researchers construct agent based and game theoretic models that produce cultural behavior. Second, they conduct experiments with human subjects to corroborate those agent based models. Third, they define a classification to clarify and refine what is meant by path dependence, highlighting a distinction between processes that depend on the path of history and processes that depend only on the set of historical events but not their order. Fourth, the construct an agent based model that tests whether path dependence emerges that they then also test with human subjects.