Overcoming the Coordination Problem: Dynamic Formation of Networks

Economics

Further details

(with Jack Ochs)

We analyze an entry game with multiple periods. In each period privately informed agents who have not yet joined decide whether to subscribe to a network. Subscribers derive benefits in future periods depending on the network size. We study the case where agents are sufficiently patient and show that there exists a unique symmetric equilibrium if the number of existing subscribers is common knowledge in each period. This resolves the coordination problem which is prevalent in markets with network externalities.