| Date: | Mon, 05 May 2008 |
| From: | Leonid Chindelevitch |
| Subject: | SPAMS this Thursday, 5 PM, in 4-231 |
Hello everyone,
This week we have the much-anticipated talk by Ilya Nikokoshev on public goods
and other interesting things. See you at the usual place at the usual time!
Leonid, Denis, Michael,
SPAMS organizers.
Title: Assurance Contracts
Knowledge, dams, parks and even tea and cookies that magically appear in the
department everyday are the examples of public goods, since their benefits go
to everyone. We all agree these goods are useful, but who will pay for them in
the absense of central administration?
We'll describe one possible algorithm, called dominant assurance contract, as an
example of mechanism design.