Reference no: EM131164949

Consider the following quote from CBB: "War is the collective pursuit of a dangerous activity. But the collective pursuit occurs person by person. Why do individuals participate in war, whether voluntary or conscripted? In battle, what makes the fighting unit stay together as a collective, even as the lives of the individuals are at stake?

(a) Explain for an audience that has not had this course, e.g., one of your parents, why the participation of individuals in combat is seen by economists as problematic. That is, what assumptions about the motivation of individual soldiers and asumptions about their interactions make their participation in such a dangerous activity a puzzle? Answer sketch: soldiers care about their own probability of living; their individual actions (shirk, be brave) interact with otherís actions to a§ect their own probabilities of living. An "A" answer would illustrate this with the exposition of the prisoner's dilemma game- the description of "payoffs" for each combination of actions by the two soldiers, and the logic behind the prediction that both would shirk (dominated strategy).

(b) Explain some of the techniques devised by military and societal lead- ers to try and make soldiers "be brave" and not shirk. Answer sketch: "burning bridges" and other "stick" inducements, medals and other "carrot" rewards (land for vassals, pirate booty, ...); training (shared tribulations, group punishments for individual errors, ...). The "A" answer uses examples to illustrate these ideas.