Mixed Markov-Perfect Equilibria in the Continuous-Time War of Attrition

Abstract: We prove the existence of a Markov-perfect equilibrium in randomized stopping times for a model of the war of attrition in which the underlying state variable follows a homogenous linear diffusion. The proof uses the fact that the space of Markovian randomized stopping times can be topologized as a compact absolute retract, which in turn enables us to use a powerful fixed-point theorem by Eilenberg and Montgomery. We illustrate our results with an example of a war of attrition that admits a mixed-strategy Markov-perfect equilibrium but no pure-strategy Markov-perfect equilibrium.