SHAPING LONG-RUN EXPECTATIONS IN PROBLEMS OF COORDINATION

Abstract

When far-sighted agents may adjust their behavior only gradually , the issue of equilibrium selection in games becomes one of tension between "history" and "expectations". This paper analyzes whether, in this context, a planner may intervene successfully through short-run policies which redirect expectations away from the inertia of undesired history. The possibilities and limitations of such approach to "expectation management" are studied in a game-theoretic framework where both the planner and the population are involved in a struggle to impose their (credible) commitment possibilities.