Two competing firms, Firm A and Firm B, are deciding whether to invest in a new, costly, pollution-reducing technology. The technology benefits both firms by improving public image and avoiding future regulatory fines, but the firm that invests alone bears a higher initial cost. The payoff matrix below shows the profits for each firm based on their decisions, with Firm A's profit listed first in each pair.

             Firm B
             Invest   | Don't Invest
    ----------------------------------
Invest   | (10, 10) | (2, 12)
    ----------------------------------
Don't    | (12, 2)  | (4, 4)
Invest   |

A government agency wants to offer a subsidy to encourage mutual investment. What is the minimum whole number subsidy that must be given to Firm B for investing (specifically in the scenario where Firm A also invests) to make the ('Invest', 'Invest') outcome a stable equilibrium?

Resolving a Water Usage Dilemma

Evaluating Strategies to Prevent Overfishing

Incentivizing Environmental Cooperation

Consider a scenario with two neighboring regions deciding whether to 'Conserve' a shared water source or 'Overuse' it. Initially, the most rational choice for each region, regardless of what the other does, is to 'Overuse' the water, leading to a poor outcome for both. An external agency intervenes by offering a large reward to a region only if it chooses to 'Conserve' while the other region chooses to 'Overuse'. This intervention is sufficient to make ('Conserve', 'Conserve') a stable outcome where neither region has an incentive to change its strategy.

Two companies share a common resource. Each can either 'Conserve' the resource for long-term sustainability or 'Exploit' it for short-term gain. The initial situation is a dilemma where both companies choosing 'Exploit' is the most likely outcome, leading to the resource's depletion. Match each of the following policy interventions to its most likely effect on the companies' strategic decisions.

Two companies are deciding whether to 'Restrict' pollution or continue with 'Business as Usual' (BAU). Initially, the dominant strategy for each is BAU. To encourage mutual restriction, a regulator adds a bonus to the payoff for each company if, and only if, both choose to 'Restrict'. For this bonus to successfully make ('Restrict', 'Restrict') a stable outcome, the new, higher payoff for restricting must be greater than the original payoff for choosing ____ when the other company chooses 'Restrict'.

Fostering Collaboration in the Tech Industry

Two fishing companies, 'Ocean's Bounty' and 'Sea's Harvest,' share a fishing ground. They can either 'Limit Catch' to ensure long-term sustainability or 'Overfish' for higher short-term profits. The table below shows the weekly profits (in thousands of dollars) for each company based on their combined decisions. The first number in each pair is the profit for Ocean's Bounty.

             Sea's Harvest
             Limit Catch | Overfish
    ----------------------------------
Limit Catch| (100, 100)  | (50, 120)
    ----------------------------------
Overfish   | (120, 50)   | (70, 70)

A regulator wants to implement a policy that makes it rational for both companies to choose 'Limit Catch', creating a stable outcome where neither company has an incentive to change its choice. Which of the following interventions would achieve this goal?

Evaluating a Regulatory Intervention in a Competitive Market

Incentivizing Environmental Cooperation