Some models of industries with horizontal shareholding interlocks are generalized. First, we consider industries where firms exhibit different technologies and more general market demand functions. The cartelizing effects of financial interlocks are examined using both the Lerner index and the...

Cournot oligopolies are examined with two kinds of output adjustment costs, which model the use of contingent work force and additional investments. The best responses of the firms are first determined and the partial adjustment toward best responses is assumed in formulating a dynamic model....

In Braess paradox adding an extra resource, and therefore an extra available choice, enriches the complexity of the game from a dynamic perspective. The analysis of the cycles and the bifurcations helps to visualize how this complexity changes, in a quite new way with respect to what is provided...

Two different ways to model the diffusion of alternative choices within a population of individuals in the presence of social externalities are known in the literature. While Galam’s model of rumors spreading considers a majority rule for interactions in several groups, Schelling considers...

Social networks can be viewed as graphs in their basic form, but many networks of interest include positive and negative affect relations among nodes. The structural balance theory originally developed by Heider suggests how nodes may locally modify their relationships to maintain a sort of...

Different disciplines have analyzed binary choices to model collective behavior in human systems. Several situations in which social dilemma arise can be modeled as N-person prisoner’s dilemma games including homeland security, public goods, international political economy among others. The...

In several situations the consequences of an actor’s choices are also affected by the actions of other actors. This is one of the aspects which determines the complexity of social systems and make them behave as a whole. Systems characterized by such a trade-off between individual choices and...

The effects of partially cooperating firms are examined in N-firm oligopolies. The Herfindahl-Hirschmann Index is assumed to detect the violation of the antitrust regulation by the firms, and based on this assumption a piece-wise differentiable dynamic system can be developed. The firms stop...

A general framework of partial cooperation and shareholding interlocks in oligopolies is first introduced, and then the best responses of the firms are determined. The monotonic dependence of the equilibrium industry output on the cooperation levels of the firms is proved. Conditions are given...