Where We Live


Mass coordination games often determine where individuals live. Many people, unfortunately, prefer to live in neighborhoods in which they are not a racial minority, and as a consequence, neighborhoods often become ethnically homogenous.

Imagine that two different ethnic groups, labeled X and Y, live in a city and assume that no one wants to live in a neighborhood in which he is a minority. Total ethnic homogeneity is the only stable outcome. If, for example, only type X lives in a certain neighborhood, then in the future no one but type X will want to move in, and so the neighborhood will remain nondiverse forever. Could a neighborhood ever be ethnically diverse, however?

Unless a neighborhood is equally divided between X and Y, then one of the groups must mathematically be in the minority, and this minority group will gradually move out. Is it stable for a neighborhood to be equally divided between Xs and Ys? Unfortunately, random shocks will always undermine ethnically balanced neighborhoods. Just by chance, in every neighborhood there will always be more of one group than another. These random shocks will be accelerated by deliberate action when one group unexpectedly finds itself in the minority and leaves the neighborhood. Consequently, the only stable outcome is for all neighborhoods to be ethnically homogenous even though both groups wouldn’t object if, 40 percent of their neighbors were from a different ethnic group.

The same mass coordination games that result in neighborhoods becoming ethnically homogenous will also cause some cities to have a higher percentage of homosexuals. Most humans prioritize being able to find a sexual partner. The task of finding a mate can be more challenging for homosexuals since they make up a small percentage of the population. Consequently, when a homosexual decides where to live, the percentages of gays in different areas will rationally play a large part in his settlement decision.

When many homosexuals desire to live in a city with a large proportion of people with their sexual orientation, the consequence will be that a few cities will become known for having a large gay population. Once a city like San Francisco or Northampton, MA, gets a relatively large number of homosexuals, other gays will be attracted to the city, accelerating this effect.

The high percentage of gays in San Francisco shows the accidental nature of coordination games. There is no reason why San Francisco should have such a large gay population. Coordination games, however, often result in one city or product being extremely popular with a population group.




Game Theory at Work(c) How to Use Game Theory to Outthink and Outmaneuver Your Competition
Game Theory at Work(c) How to Use Game Theory to Outthink and Outmaneuver Your Competition
ISBN: N/A
EAN: N/A
Year: 2005
Pages: 260

flylib.com © 2008-2017.
If you may any questions please contact us: flylib@qtcs.net