Correlated equilibria and sunspots

Eric Maskin*, Jean Tirole

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    24 Scopus citations

    Abstract

    We examine when "sunspots" (uncertainty that has no influence on endowments, preferences, or technology) can affect equilibrium in a simple two-period, two-commodity, two-class economy. We find that such an effect is possibly only if the signals (random variables) that different agents observe are imperfectly correlated (neither perfectly correlated nor independent) and at least one commodity is a Giffen good. For two special cases we characterize the set of equilibria due to sunspots. We conclude by showing the intimate connection between the sunspot equilibria of our finite horizon model and those of the overlapping generations literature.

    Original languageEnglish (US)
    Pages (from-to)364-373
    Number of pages10
    JournalJournal of Economic Theory
    Volume43
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    StatePublished - Dec 1987

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Economics and Econometrics

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Correlated equilibria and sunspots'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this