The seminar is CANCELED. We hope to reschedule this talk in the future.

We describe a new and different behavioral model for individuals playing in a repeated situation. It is based on a flexible learning process and called Individual Evolutionary Learning (IEL). Our model does not require calibration and can be used as a computer testbed to study the probable performance of a wide range of mechanisms over a wide range of environments prior to testing them in a laboratory or using them in practice. We illustrate the utility of the testbed approach by analyzing an open question in mechanism design - the dynamics of Groves-Ledyard mechanisms. Contrary to standard theories, the prediction from the IEL behavioral model is that the average time to convergence varies smoothly and is U-shaped in the mechanism’s free parameter. We validate the results from the testbed with data from economic experiments with humans. The paper is available at http://www.sfu.ca/~arifovic/jajlgl.pdf