Effect of Node Neighborhood on the Evolution of Cooperation Using Public Goods Game in Vehicular Networks

Cooperation in complex networks is an interdisciplinary topic of recent interest. Vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs), a class of such complex self organizing networks have recently emerged as a platform to develop cooperative communication systems. The evolution of cooperation in these networks depend on the influence from its neighbors. Hence the impact of node neighborhood in terms of degree correlation is important for the evolution of cooperation in such networks. This paper formulates a Public Goods Game group interactions model for packet forwarding in vehicular networks and analyze the impact of degree correlations on the evolution of cooperation. Simulation results show that in highly assortative vehicular networks, cooperation appears to evolve around cliques of similar degree patterns. However, diffusion of cooperation is higher in the neighborhood of higher degree nodes as they can easily influence the strategy of their neighbors. On the other hand, cooperation rarely evolves among low and medium degree nodes as their strategies cannot be sustained over time.