Abstract
We introduce a model of (wireless communication) networks: a group of agents want to communicate with each other; an agent has his own position, chooses his costly communication range, and benefits from direct and indirect communications with other agents; any two agents can directly communicate if each agent is located within another agent’s communication range; they can indirectly communicate if each agent is connected to another agent through a sequence of direct communications. Although efficiency and stability are not compatible in a general context, we identify interesting subclasses of problems where an efficient and stable network exists: the uniform interval model, the uniform circle model, and the communication favorable domain. We also investigate the consequence of allowing agents to relocate their positions. For certain networks, relocation-proofness is equivalent to stability.
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We are grateful to Bong Chan Koh, Eun Jeong Heo, an associate editor, and two referees for their comments. This work was supported by the Brain Korea 21 Project in 2006. This paper was written during the second author’s visit to the Osaka University. He is grateful to the Institute of Social and Economic Research for its hospitality.
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Hong, S., Chun, Y. Efficiency and stability in a model of wireless communication networks. Soc Choice Welf 34, 441–454 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00355-009-0409-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00355-009-0409-1