When Is There A Unique Equilibrium in Less Structured Bargaining?

We study two-person complete-information bargaining games in a non-cooperative setting. The alternating-offers model in Rubinstein (1982) is modified so that players negotiate each time about who will make the next proposal. Under this rule, there are multiple equilibria and there can be a prolonged delay. The multiplicity and the possibility of delay remain either when offers have to be made alternately (under Restriction A) or when the players cannot increase their demands over time (under Restriction N). Only when both of these restrictions are imposed does the immediate settlement predicted by Rubinstein’s original model emerge as the unique equilibrium.