A Theory of Network Games Part 1: Utility Representations (opens in new tab)

arXiv:2602.16071v2 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: We demonstrate that a ubiquitous feature of network games, bilateral strategic interactions, is equivalent to having player utilities that are additively separable across opponents. We distinguish two formal notions of bilateral strategic interactions. Opponent independence means that player i's preferences over opponent j's action do not depend on what other opponents do. Strategic independence means that how opponent j's choice infl...