TY - GEN
T1 - One-to-n scrip systems for cooperative privacy-enhancing technologies
AU - Humbert, Mathias
AU - Manshaei, Mohammad Hossein
AU - Hubaux, Jean Pierre
PY - 2011
Y1 - 2011
N2 - Scrip is a generic term for any substitute for real currency; it can be converted into goods or services sold by the issuer. In the classic scrip system model, one agent is helped by another in return for one unit of scrip. In this paper, we present an upgraded model, the one-to-n scrip system, where users need to find n agents to accomplish a single task. We provide a detailed analytical evaluation of this system based on a game-theoretic approach. We establish that a nontrivial Nash equilibrium exists in such systems under certain conditions. We study the effect of n on the equilibrium, on the distribution of scrip in the system and on its performance. Among other results, we show that the system designer should increase the average amount of scrip in the system when n increases in order to optimize its efficiency. We also explain how our new one-to-n scrip system can be applied to foster cooperation in two privacy-enhancing applications.
AB - Scrip is a generic term for any substitute for real currency; it can be converted into goods or services sold by the issuer. In the classic scrip system model, one agent is helped by another in return for one unit of scrip. In this paper, we present an upgraded model, the one-to-n scrip system, where users need to find n agents to accomplish a single task. We provide a detailed analytical evaluation of this system based on a game-theoretic approach. We establish that a nontrivial Nash equilibrium exists in such systems under certain conditions. We study the effect of n on the equilibrium, on the distribution of scrip in the system and on its performance. Among other results, we show that the system designer should increase the average amount of scrip in the system when n increases in order to optimize its efficiency. We also explain how our new one-to-n scrip system can be applied to foster cooperation in two privacy-enhancing applications.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84856110928&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.1109/Allerton.2011.6120234
DO - 10.1109/Allerton.2011.6120234
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:84856110928
SN - 9781457718168
T3 - 2011 49th Annual Allerton Conference on Communication, Control, and Computing, Allerton 2011
SP - 682
EP - 692
BT - 2011 49th Annual Allerton Conference on Communication, Control, and Computing, Allerton 2011
T2 - 2011 49th Annual Allerton Conference on Communication, Control, and Computing, Allerton 2011
Y2 - 28 September 2011 through 30 September 2011
ER -