Coalition Building

  • coalition games
    • enforceable agreements/alliances can be made between players
  • cooperative game theory
    • given the possible benefits of each cooperative alliance, which alliances are robust? Which ones are “fair”?

Cooperative Game

  • set of players
  • characteristic function
    • assigns a value to each (sub-)coalition
  • properties
    • monotonicity: larger coaltition larger payoff
    • superadditivity: any 2 coalitions combined >= both coalitions separately

Solution: The Core

  • no agent wants to deviate
  • slides 3 13
  • may be …
    • not fair
    • empty
    • hard to compute
  • any agreement within core is stable
  • no coalition or sub-agreement would brake away

Shapley Value

  • award based on marginal contribution
  • depends on what is already present in a coalition
  • expression after minus … Opportunity Cost of the coalition if the coalition does not include you
  • shapley value may be outside of core feasible, but not stable

Politics

  • contribution power only takes into account the amount to reach majority
    • if only 5% is missing to >50% then only 5% are actually meaningful
    • anything over 5% is just hot air
  • smaller coalitions partners are more meaningful than their vote share would suggest
    • smaller parties get higher share of e.g. minister spots than their share of votes