The Consistency Axiom –An Experimental Study–

If a strict equilibrium is suggested as the solution of a strategicgame in normal form and if some but not all players are committedto their solution strategy, a reduced game results with only thestill non-committed as active players. The reduced game property (orconsistency axiom) demands that the solution of the reduced game isgiven by the original solution strategies of its active players. However,postulating the reduced game property is asking for too much:consistent equilibrium selection in general is not possible if certainother requirements (existence and optimality) are granted (Norde etal., 1996). Does the reduced game property have at least some behavioralappeal? We test this experimentally by confronting players witha solution proposal before letting them decide both for the originalgame and for its reduced games.