The Open Method of Coordination (OMC) as an Evolutionary Learning Process

Ana B. Ania () and Andreas Wagener ()

Discussion Papers in Economics from University of Munich, Department of Economics

Abstract: We interpret the Open Method of Coordination (OMC), recently adopted by the EU as a mode of governance in the area of social policy and other fields, as an imitative learning dynamics of the type considered in evolutionary game theory. The best-practise feature and the iterative design of the OMC correspond to the behavioral rule "imitate the best." In a redistribution game with utilitarian governments and mobile welfare beneficiaries, we compare the outcomes of imitative behavior (long-run evolutionary equilibrium), decentralized best-response behavior (Nash equilibrium), and coordinated policies. The main result is that the OMC allows policy coordination on a strict subset of the set of Nash equilibria, favoring in particular coordination on intermediate values of the policy instrument.

Keywords: Open Method of Coordination; Finite-population Evolutionarily Stable Strategy; Imitation; Mobility; Redistribution. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H77 H75 C73 I38 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-evo
Date: 2009-11-23
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Related works:
Working Paper: The Open Method of Coordination (OMC) as an Evolutionary Learning Process (2009)
Working Paper: The Open Method of Coordination (OMC) as an Evolutionary Learning Process (2009)
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Persistent link: http://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:lmu:muenec:10332

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