The table below shows the payoffs to the running of negative and clean political ads by two political candidates.The payoffs are the increase or decrease in the number of voters willing to vote for the candidate.
-Given the payoff matrix,the Nash equilibrium will be
A) both Ignatieff and Harper run clean ads.
B) Ignatieff runs clean ads and Harper runs negative ads.
C) indeterminate.
D) Ignatieff runs negative ads and Harper runs clean ads.
E) both Ignatieff and Harper run negative ads.

Question

The table below shows the payoffs to the running of negative and clean political ads by two political candidates.The payoffs are the increase or decrease in the number of voters willing to vote for the candidate. 
-Given the payoff matrix,the Nash equilibrium will be
A) both Ignatieff and Harper run clean ads. 
B) Ignatieff runs clean ads and Harper runs negative ads. 
C) indeterminate. 
D) Ignatieff runs negative ads and Harper runs clean ads. 
E) both Ignatieff and Harper run negative ads.

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

In a Nash equilibrium, each player's strategy is optimal given the other player's strategy. If both Ignatieff and Harper running negative ads is the Nash equilibrium, it means neither can improve their payoff by unilaterally changing their strategy.

The Table Below Shows the Payoffs to the Running of Negative