Getting started
This exercise teaches how property rights and transaction costs affect bargaining outcomes with externalities.
Online game links
- Student login: Coase Student Portal
- Admin login (instructor): Coase Admin Dashboard
How we will play
- Each student joins the Student Portal with a player name.
- The instructor creates a live session and starts random pairing.
- If the number of students is odd, one student is paired with an admin proxy.
- Pairs bargain over emissions and transfers, then submit agreed outcomes in each round.
Payoff schedule
Payoffs are in hundred thousand dollars per month and emissions are in hundred gallons per month.
| Emissions | Player A payoff | Player B payoff |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 1 | 4 | 10 |
| 2 | 6 | 6 |
| 3 | 6 | 4 |
| 4 | 9 | 2 |
| 5 | 10 | 1 |
| 6 | 11 | 0 |
Round 1
- Controller: Player A.
- Player B may offer a payment to Player A (noncontroller to controller).
- Pair submits agreed emissions and payment.
Round 2
- Controller: Player B.
- Player A may offer a payment to Player B (noncontroller to controller).
- Pair submits agreed emissions and payment.
Round 3
- Controller: Player B.
- Same bargaining as Round 2, but any positive transfer requires legal agreement costs of 5.
- Pair must choose how much of the legal cost is paid by Player A (0 to 5), with the rest paid by Player B.
- Pair submits agreed emissions, payment, and legal-cost split.
Notes for students
- Keep your student page open; it updates as the instructor changes phases.
- For regular pairs, both players must submit matching values for a round to resolve.
- For admin-proxy pairs, only the student submission is required.