Games and Networks
Kent County Council will soon vote on two bills to build new bypass roads in Canterbury and Maidstone,
respectively. If a bill is passed, it will cost each district of Kent £1 million, but if a bypass is built
in a district, the benefit to the district will be quite significant. Canterbury’s estimate is that each
district would reap a benefit of £10 million; Maidstone’s estimate is more conservative at £9 million to
Canterbury and £8.5 million to Maidstone. Both bills are voted on simultaneously. Neither district can get
the bill passed unless they can ensure one more vote to support their bill. Canterbury’s councillor does
not trust Maidstone’s councillor (and vice versa) sufficiently to enable cooperation, although Maidstone’s
councillor believes if they both supported a bill it would be carried. Canterbury’s councillor is more
pessimistic: she thinks that in the current economic climate even if both of them voted “yes” for a bill it
would still only have an 80% chance. Maidstone’s councillor also could offer a bribe to another councillor
not directly affected – for £100000 Thanet’s councillor would support Maidstone’s bill, enabling it to go
through in Maidstone’s opinion. (This option of a bribe is of course secret and would come out of
Maidstone’s budget as a “consultancy fee”.) Formulate and solve this hypergame.
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