Reinterpreting the meaning of breakdown

Resumo

Alternating bargaining has been extensively used to model two-sidednegotiations. The celebrated model of Rubinstein (1982) has provided a formaljustification for equitable payoff division. A typical assumption of these models underrisk is that the breakdown event means a complete and irrevocable halt in negotiations.We reinterpret the meaning of breakdown as the imposition to finish negotiationsimmediately. Specifically, after breakdown the last offer becomes definitive. WhileRubinstein¿s model predicts an immediate agreement with stationary strategies, weshow that the same payoff allocation is attainable under non-stationary strategies.Moreover, the payoffs in delayed equilibria are potentially better for the proposer thanthose in which agreement is immediately reached.