A new typology of players is proposed based on the classification of actions as either instinctive or contemplative. A person’s type is the probability of him choosing a contemplative action. To test the typology, results of 10 games are analyzed. Actions in each game were classified depending on whether their response time was more or less, respectively, than the median response time of all subjects who played the game. It is argued that fast actions are more instinctive and slow actions are more contemplative. A subject’s contemplative index (CI) is defined as the proportion of games in which he chose a contemplative action. It is found that for 8 of the 10 games, the CI in the other 9 games is positively correlated with a player’s choice of a contemplative action in that game (average Spearman correlation of 9%). The CI is used to shed light on the nature of choice in five additional games.

We study a model of a market with three types of agents: sellers, buyers, and middlemen. Buyers and sellers can trade directly or indirectly through the middlemen. The analysis focuses on steady state situations in which the numbers of agents of the different types and hence the trading opportunities are constant over time. The paper provides a framework for analyzing the activity of middlemen and the endogenous determination of the extent of that activity. It highlights the relations between the trading procedure and the distribution of the gains from trade.

Janusz A. Ordover, Ariel Rubinstein; A Sequential Concession Game with Asymmetric Information*, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Volume 101, Issue 4, 1 Novem