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Mechanism Design

TagLast edit: Oct 14, 2021, 2:27 PM by Vladimir_Nesov

Mechanism Design is the theory of how to design incentives for strategic agents, such that the agents acting according to their selfish interests will result in a desired outcome. It can be applied to things like institution design, voting systems, school admissions, regulation of monopolists, market design, and auction design. Think of it as the engineering side of game theory, thinking backward from a desired goal, and designing structures that lead strategic agents to behave in a way that achieves that goal.

Important Concepts

Related Pages: Game Theory, Incentives, Principal-Agent Problems, Cryptocurrencies and blockchain, Public discourse

Related Sequences: Mechanism Design

[Se­quence an­nounce­ment] In­tro­duc­tion to Mechanism Design

badgerApr 30, 2014, 4:21 PM
95 points
12 comments1 min readLW link

In­cen­tive com­pat­i­bil­ity and the Reve­la­tion Principle

badgerMay 3, 2014, 1:38 PM
40 points
7 comments6 min readLW link

Mechanism De­sign: Con­struct­ing Al­gorithms for Strate­gic Agents

badgerApr 30, 2014, 6:37 PM
71 points
14 comments9 min readLW link

Strat­e­gyproof Mechanisms: Possibilities

badgerJun 2, 2014, 2:26 AM
42 points
4 comments6 min readLW link

Swiss Poli­ti­cal Sys­tem: More than You ever Wanted to Know (I.)

Martin SustrikJul 19, 2020, 1:11 AM
171 points
39 comments24 min readLW link2 reviews

A vot­ing the­ory primer for rationalists

Jameson QuinnApr 12, 2018, 3:15 PM
234 points
99 comments17 min readLW link2 reviews

Ei­genKarma: trust at scale

Henrik KarlssonFeb 8, 2023, 6:52 PM
186 points
52 comments5 min readLW link

Anti-so­cial Punishment

Martin SustrikSep 27, 2018, 7:08 AM
310 points
66 comments6 min readLW link3 reviews

Swiss Poli­ti­cal Sys­tem: More than You ever Wanted to Know (III.)

Martin SustrikAug 11, 2020, 5:09 AM
72 points
8 comments22 min readLW link

Mo­ral pub­lic goods

paulfchristianoJan 26, 2020, 12:10 AM
147 points
74 comments4 min readLW link
(sideways-view.com)

Will Je­sus Christ re­turn in an elec­tion year?

Eric NeymanMar 24, 2025, 4:50 PM
270 points
34 comments4 min readLW link
(ericneyman.wordpress.com)

[not on­go­ing] Thoughts on Pro­por­tional vot­ing methods

Jameson QuinnJul 22, 2020, 2:46 AM
32 points
53 comments46 min readLW link

When Hind­sight Isn’t 20/​20: In­cen­tive De­sign With Im­perfect Credit Allocation

johnswentworthNov 8, 2020, 7:16 PM
79 points
24 comments6 min readLW link

Honors Fuel Achievement

Samo BurjaJun 10, 2019, 4:10 PM
38 points
2 comments8 min readLW link
(medium.com)

So­cial Technology

Samo BurjaMar 2, 2018, 7:54 PM
13 points
3 comments11 min readLW link

In­ter­faces as a Scarce Resource

johnswentworthMar 5, 2020, 6:20 PM
188 points
15 comments12 min readLW link1 review

Crowd­sourc­ing mod­er­a­tion with­out sac­ri­fic­ing quality

paulfchristianoDec 2, 2016, 9:47 PM
18 points
26 comments1 min readLW link
(sideways-view.com)

Ra­tional Me or We?

RobinHansonMar 17, 2009, 1:39 PM
164 points
156 comments1 min readLW link

Ex­per­i­ment: Separate High/​Low Pro­duc­tive Hours

RaemonFeb 8, 2018, 4:10 AM
15 points
2 comments2 min readLW link

How can non­prof­its gain the ad­van­tages of the for-profit model?

jasoncrawfordMay 6, 2020, 1:15 AM
37 points
0 comments2 min readLW link
(rootsofprogress.org)

Melt­ing democracy

Richard_NgoApr 29, 2020, 8:10 PM
30 points
6 comments6 min readLW link
(thinkingcomplete.blogspot.com)

More Notes on Sim­ple Rules

ZviMay 21, 2019, 2:50 PM
34 points
1 comment6 min readLW link
(thezvi.wordpress.com)

Self-Re­solv­ing Pre­dic­tion Markets

PeterMcCluskeyMar 3, 2024, 2:39 AM
33 points
0 comments3 min readLW link
(bayesianinvestor.com)

Distributed pub­lic goods provision

paulfchristianoSep 26, 2020, 9:20 PM
26 points
3 comments5 min readLW link
(sideways-view.com)

Log­i­cal Foun­da­tions of Govern­ment Policy

FCCCOct 10, 2020, 5:05 PM
2 points
0 comments17 min readLW link

Shap­ing eco­nomic in­cen­tives for col­lab­o­ra­tive AGI

Kaj_SotalaJun 29, 2018, 4:26 PM
45 points
15 comments4 min readLW link

Tack­ling Moloch: How YouCongress Offers a Novel Co­or­di­na­tion Mechanism

Hector Perez ArenasMay 15, 2024, 11:13 PM
28 points
9 comments6 min readLW link

The Retroac­tive Fund­ing Land­scape: In­no­va­tions for Donors and Grantmakers

Dawn DrescherSep 29, 2023, 5:39 PM
13 points
0 comments1 min readLW link
(impactmarkets.substack.com)

How Often Does Tak­ing Away Op­tions Help?

niplavSep 21, 2024, 9:52 PM
21 points
7 comments2 min readLW link

Struc­tured Trans­parency: a frame­work for ad­dress­ing use/​mis-use trade-offs when shar­ing information

habrykaApr 11, 2024, 6:35 PM
25 points
0 comments2 min readLW link
(arxiv.org)

Nash Score for Vot­ing Techniques

abramdemskiNov 26, 2020, 7:29 PM
20 points
12 comments6 min readLW link

[Question] Num­ber-guess­ing pro­to­col?

abramdemskiDec 7, 2020, 3:07 PM
19 points
28 comments1 min readLW link

How to solve the ar­gu­ment about what the al­gorithm should do

Yoav RavidJan 15, 2021, 6:08 AM
22 points
8 comments1 min readLW link

Do clients need years of ther­apy, or can one con­ver­sa­tion re­solve the is­sue?

ChipmonkFeb 28, 2025, 12:06 AM
9 points
10 comments6 min readLW link
(chrislakin.blog)

Idea: Give the No­bel peace prize to in­sti­tu­tion designers

Tim LiptrotJun 21, 2021, 5:22 PM
29 points
5 comments2 min readLW link

Bet­ter Pass­word Peppering

Yoav RavidAug 24, 2021, 10:19 AM
6 points
9 comments3 min readLW link

Pay Risk Eval­u­a­tors in Cash, Not Equity

Adam SchollSep 7, 2024, 2:37 AM
212 points
19 comments1 min readLW link

Neutrality

sarahconstantinNov 13, 2024, 11:10 PM
159 points
27 comments11 min readLW link
(sarahconstantin.substack.com)

Quadratic Vot­ing and Collusion

leogaoNov 17, 2021, 12:19 AM
41 points
24 comments2 min readLW link

Alex Tabar­rok ad­vo­cates for crowd­fund­ing sys­tems with *Re­fund Bonuses*. I think this might be a nat­u­ral oc­cur­rence of a money pump against Causal De­ci­sion The­ory pledgers

mako yassMar 14, 2022, 7:27 AM
17 points
13 comments1 min readLW link
(marginalrevolution.com)

Thoughts on Crowd­fund­ing with Re­fund Bonuses

Yoav RavidMar 16, 2022, 4:29 PM
38 points
19 comments6 min readLW link

[Question] Quadratic vot­ing with au­to­matic col­lu­sion?

SarahNibsApr 25, 2022, 4:15 PM
10 points
5 comments1 min readLW link

In­no­va­tion, Stag­na­tion, and Para­trooper Operations

Davis_KingsleyMay 6, 2022, 8:59 PM
52 points
3 comments16 min readLW link

What would a com­pute mon­i­tor­ing plan look like? [Linkpost]

AkashMar 26, 2023, 7:33 PM
158 points
10 comments4 min readLW link
(arxiv.org)

Fea­ture re­quest: vot­ing but­tons at the bot­tom?

Oliver SourbutJun 24, 2022, 2:41 PM
70 points
12 comments1 min readLW link

An­nounc­ing: Mechanism De­sign for AI Safety—Read­ing Group

Rubi J. HudsonAug 9, 2022, 4:21 AM
18 points
3 comments4 min readLW link

Man­i­fund x AI Worldviews

Austin ChenMar 31, 2023, 3:32 PM
33 points
0 comments1 min readLW link

Mechanism De­sign for AI Safety—Read­ing Group Curriculum

Rubi J. HudsonOct 25, 2022, 3:54 AM
15 points
3 comments1 min readLW link

More on Twit­ter and Algorithms

ZviApr 19, 2023, 12:40 PM
37 points
7 comments13 min readLW link
(thezvi.wordpress.com)

Notes on Po­ten­tial Fu­ture AI Tax Policy

ZviApr 25, 2023, 1:30 PM
33 points
6 comments9 min readLW link
(thezvi.wordpress.com)

Pod­cast with Oli Habryka on LessWrong /​ Light­cone Infrastructure

DanielFilanFeb 5, 2023, 2:52 AM
88 points
20 comments1 min readLW link
(thefilancabinet.com)

Afri­can Wild Dogs Vote By Sneez­ing—Can AI Help Us Do Bet­ter?

Augmented AssemblyFeb 6, 2023, 9:09 PM
10 points
6 comments4 min readLW link

La­tent vari­ables for pre­dic­tion mar­kets: mo­ti­va­tion, tech­ni­cal guide, and de­sign considerations

tailcalledFeb 12, 2023, 5:54 PM
100 points
25 comments23 min readLW link2 reviews

Fer­til­ity Rate Roundup #1

ZviFeb 27, 2023, 1:30 PM
52 points
20 comments11 min readLW link
(thezvi.wordpress.com)

Multi-Win­ner 3-2-1 Voting

Yoav RavidOct 30, 2023, 3:31 AM
14 points
6 comments3 min readLW link

Com­men­sal Institutions

SableNov 1, 2023, 4:01 PM
8 points
12 comments4 min readLW link
(affablyevil.substack.com)

In­sti­tu­tional Senescence

Martin SustrikJun 26, 2020, 4:40 AM
27 points
7 comments2 min readLW link
(250bpm.com)

Eng­ineer­ing Ex­pe­rience Through Score

ZorbaTHutAug 2, 2020, 12:09 PM
25 points
0 comments4 min readLW link

How To Use Bureaucracies

Samo BurjaJul 17, 2018, 8:10 AM
64 points
37 comments9 min readLW link
(medium.com)

Ex­plain­ing Im­pact Markets

Saul MunnJan 31, 2024, 9:51 AM
95 points
2 comments3 min readLW link
(www.brasstacks.blog)

[Question] [Re­source Re­quest] What are good re­sources for best prac­tice for cre­at­ing bu­reau­cracy?

ChristianKlJul 9, 2020, 12:05 PM
11 points
1 comment1 min readLW link

Pro­posal for im­prov­ing the global on­line dis­course through per­son­al­ised com­ment or­der­ing on all websites

Roman LeventovDec 6, 2023, 6:51 PM
35 points
21 comments6 min readLW link

Moloch Hasn’t Won

ZviDec 28, 2019, 4:30 PM
186 points
40 comments7 min readLW link1 review
(thezvi.wordpress.com)

Quotes from Mo­ral Mazes

ZviMay 30, 2019, 11:50 AM
114 points
27 comments53 min readLW link
(thezvi.wordpress.com)

The Costly Co­or­di­na­tion Mechanism of Com­mon Knowledge

Ben PaceMar 15, 2018, 8:20 PM
201 points
31 comments20 min readLW link2 reviews

Quadratic vot­ing for the 2018 Review

Ben PaceDec 20, 2019, 10:59 PM
39 points
42 comments5 min readLW link

[Part 1] Am­plify­ing gen­er­al­ist re­search via fore­cast­ing – Models of im­pact and challenges

Dec 19, 2019, 3:50 PM
55 points
29 comments17 min readLW link

Re­place judges with Key­ne­sian beauty con­tests?

John_MaxwellOct 7, 2019, 4:00 AM
30 points
5 comments3 min readLW link

Re­vi­tal­iz­ing Less Wrong seems like a lost pur­pose, but here are some other ideas

John_MaxwellJun 12, 2016, 7:38 AM
34 points
34 comments6 min readLW link

Every­thing I ever needed to know, I learned from World of War­craft: In­cen­tives and rewards

Said AchmizMay 7, 2018, 6:44 AM
25 points
6 comments9 min readLW link
(blog.obormot.net)

On Col­lu­sion—Vi­talik Buterin

Matt GoldenbergOct 9, 2019, 2:45 PM
24 points
3 comments1 min readLW link
(hackernoon.com)

Com­bin­ing Pre­dic­tion Tech­nolo­gies to Help Moder­ate Discussions

Wei DaiDec 8, 2016, 12:19 AM
21 points
15 comments1 min readLW link

[Question] How im­por­tant is it that LW has an un­limited sup­ply of karma?

Bird ConceptFeb 11, 2019, 1:41 AM
27 points
9 comments2 min readLW link

So­cial Science in its episte­molog­i­cal context

Arturo MaciasDec 5, 2024, 4:12 PM
3 points
0 comments1 min readLW link
(www.theseedsofscience.pub)

In­cor­po­rat­ing Mechanism De­sign Into De­ci­sion Theory

StrivingForLegibilityJan 26, 2024, 6:25 PM
17 points
4 comments4 min readLW link

To Boldly Code

StrivingForLegibilityJan 26, 2024, 6:25 PM
25 points
4 comments3 min readLW link

Coun­ter­fac­tual Mechanism Networks

StrivingForLegibilityJan 30, 2024, 8:30 PM
4 points
0 comments5 min readLW link

Storable Votes with a Pay as you win mechanism: a con­tri­bu­tion for in­sti­tu­tional design

Arturo MaciasMar 11, 2024, 3:58 PM
17 points
19 comments2 min readLW link

Some Thoughts On Us­ing Auc­tions For Land Valuation

harsimonyFeb 22, 2024, 7:54 PM
0 points
9 comments9 min readLW link
(progressandpoverty.substack.com)

Democ­racy be­yond majoritarianism

Arturo MaciasSep 3, 2024, 3:10 PM
5 points
2 comments4 min readLW link

Seek­ing Mechanism De­signer for Re­search into In­ter­nal­iz­ing Catas­trophic Externalities

c.troutSep 11, 2024, 3:09 PM
24 points
2 comments3 min readLW link

Im­por­tant open prob­lems in voting

Closed Limelike CurvesJul 1, 2024, 2:53 AM
33 points
1 comment1 min readLW link

Ex­pevolu, a laissez-faire ap­proach to coun­try creation

FernandoDec 5, 2024, 7:29 PM
4 points
4 comments44 min readLW link
(expevolu.substack.com)

Should we ab­stain from vot­ing? (In non­de­ter­minis­tic elec­tions)

B JacobsOct 2, 2024, 10:07 AM
5 points
6 comments4 min readLW link
(bobjacobs.substack.com)

How long should poli­ti­cal (and other) terms be?

ohmurphyOct 14, 2024, 9:38 PM
5 points
0 comments1 min readLW link
(ohmurphy.substack.com)

Agenda Manipulation

PazzazNov 9, 2024, 2:13 PM
2 points
0 comments3 min readLW link

We are Peace­craft.ai!

MadHatterNov 16, 2023, 2:15 PM
15 points
20 comments2 min readLW link

Inad­e­quate Equil­ibria vs. Gover­nance of the Commons

Martin SustrikMay 25, 2018, 1:17 PM
184 points
17 comments14 min readLW link2 reviews

Dire Bullshit

AlicornApr 15, 2018, 4:59 AM
98 points
5 comments2 min readLW link

Recom­men­da­tions vs. Guidelines

Scott AlexanderApr 13, 2018, 4:10 AM
77 points
18 comments5 min readLW link
(slatestarcodex.com)

Play­ing Politics

sarahconstantinDec 5, 2018, 12:30 AM
97 points
45 comments12 min readLW link
(srconstantin.wordpress.com)

LessWrong 2.0

VaniverDec 9, 2015, 6:59 PM
127 points
313 comments8 min readLW link

The Power of Reinforcement

lukeprogJun 21, 2012, 1:42 PM
172 points
474 comments4 min readLW link

What is op­er­a­tions?

Swimmer963 (Miranda Dixon-Luinenburg) Sep 26, 2019, 2:16 PM
112 points
9 comments7 min readLW link

Les­sons from the Cold War on In­for­ma­tion Hazards: Why In­ter­nal Com­mu­ni­ca­tion is Critical

GentzelFeb 24, 2018, 11:34 PM
47 points
10 comments4 min readLW link

From Per­sonal to Pri­son Gangs: En­forc­ing Proso­cial Behavior

johnswentworthJan 24, 2019, 6:07 PM
153 points
26 comments5 min readLW link2 reviews

Less Com­pe­ti­tion, More Mer­i­toc­racy?

ZviJan 20, 2019, 2:00 AM
85 points
19 comments20 min readLW link3 reviews
(thezvi.wordpress.com)

Defeat­ing Ugh Fields In Practice

PsychohistorianJun 19, 2010, 7:37 PM
97 points
95 comments2 min readLW link

The Case for The EA Hotel

Matt GoldenbergMar 31, 2019, 12:31 PM
57 points
26 comments10 min readLW link

Recom­men­da­tion Fea­tures on LessWrong

Jun 15, 2019, 12:23 AM
62 points
36 comments4 min readLW link

Free-to-Play Games: Three Key Trade-Offs

ZviSep 10, 2019, 12:10 PM
47 points
4 comments5 min readLW link
(thezvi.wordpress.com)

3 Cul­tural In­fras­truc­ture Ideas from MAPLE

UnrealNov 26, 2019, 6:56 PM
53 points
15 comments9 min readLW link

Re­place your­self be­fore you stop or­ga­niz­ing your com­mu­nity.

RaemonJul 22, 2018, 8:57 PM
65 points
16 comments4 min readLW link

Why Do You Keep Hav­ing This Prob­lem?

Davis_KingsleyJan 20, 2020, 8:33 AM
47 points
16 comments1 min readLW link

Pro­tect­ing Large Pro­jects Against Mazedom

ZviFeb 3, 2020, 5:10 PM
78 points
11 comments4 min readLW link1 review
(thezvi.wordpress.com)

Re­sponse to Glen Weyl on Tech­noc­racy and the Ra­tion­al­ist Community

John_MaxwellAug 22, 2019, 11:14 PM
66 points
9 comments10 min readLW link

How I see knowl­edge aggregation

zulupineappleFeb 3, 2018, 10:31 AM
24 points
17 comments2 min readLW link

3 Levels of Ra­tion­al­ity Verification

Eliezer YudkowskyMar 15, 2009, 5:19 PM
86 points
246 comments3 min readLW link

Per­mis­sions in Governance

sarahconstantinAug 2, 2019, 7:50 PM
53 points
12 comments8 min readLW link
(srconstantin.wordpress.com)

Turn­ing the Tech­ni­cal Crank

ErrorApr 5, 2016, 5:36 AM
74 points
134 comments6 min readLW link

Pre­dic­tion-Aug­mented Eval­u­a­tion Systems

ozziegooenNov 9, 2018, 10:55 AM
44 points
12 comments8 min readLW link

Is com­mu­nity-col­lab­o­ra­tive ar­ti­cle pro­duc­tion pos­si­ble?

lukeprogMar 21, 2012, 8:10 PM
57 points
46 comments3 min readLW link

Sim­ple Rules of Law

ZviMay 19, 2019, 12:10 AM
57 points
24 comments28 min readLW link1 review
(thezvi.wordpress.com)

Quick Thoughts on Gen­er­a­tion and Eval­u­a­tion of Hy­pothe­ses in a Community

Ben PaceSep 6, 2018, 1:01 AM
60 points
5 comments4 min readLW link

Frac­tional Re­serve Charity

AlicornJun 7, 2019, 5:14 AM
34 points
4 comments5 min readLW link

[Question] Why aren’t as­surance con­tracts widely used?

Daniel KokotajloDec 1, 2019, 12:20 AM
34 points
14 comments1 min readLW link

Se­condary Risk Markets

VaniverDec 11, 2023, 9:52 PM
35 points
4 comments4 min readLW link

Crime and punishment

PhilGoetzMar 24, 2011, 9:53 PM
50 points
192 comments2 min readLW link

New pa­per: The In­cen­tives that Shape Behaviour

RyanCareyJan 23, 2020, 7:07 PM
23 points
5 comments1 min readLW link
(arxiv.org)

[Question] Could we solve this email mess if we all moved to paid emails?

Bird ConceptAug 11, 2019, 4:31 PM
29 points
50 comments4 min readLW link

Every­thing I ever needed to know, I learned from World of War­craft: Good­hart’s law

Said AchmizMay 3, 2018, 4:33 PM
37 points
21 comments6 min readLW link1 review
(blog.obormot.net)

One Web­site To Rule Them All?

anna_macdonaldJan 11, 2019, 7:14 PM
30 points
23 comments10 min readLW link

An Eter­nal Company

moyamoJun 6, 2023, 3:56 PM
7 points
8 comments4 min readLW link

Us­ing Con­sen­sus Mechanisms as an ap­proach to Alignment

PrometheusJun 10, 2023, 11:38 PM
11 points
2 comments6 min readLW link

Slay­ing the Hy­dra: to­ward a new game board for AI

PrometheusJun 23, 2023, 5:04 PM
0 points
5 comments6 min readLW link

The effi­ciency of prizes

lukeprogApr 3, 2012, 9:45 PM
39 points
18 comments2 min readLW link

Lite Blocking

jefftkNov 5, 2019, 1:50 PM
21 points
4 comments2 min readLW link
(www.jefftk.com)

Bo­gus Exam Questions

Donald HobsonMar 28, 2020, 12:56 PM
18 points
8 comments3 min readLW link

Demo­cratic Fine-Tuning

Joe EdelmanAug 29, 2023, 6:13 PM
22 points
2 comments1 min readLW link
(open.substack.com)

Longevity Insurance

canadaduaneFeb 20, 2012, 12:30 AM
24 points
18 comments2 min readLW link

en­ergy land­scapes of experts

bhauthOct 2, 2023, 2:08 PM
45 points
2 comments3 min readLW link
(www.bhauth.com)

The New Age of So­cial Engineering

VivaLaPandaDec 7, 2019, 12:23 AM
22 points
7 comments11 min readLW link

[Question] What if we could use the the­ory of Mechanism De­sign from Game The­ory as a medium achieve AI Align­ment?

farari7Apr 4, 2021, 12:56 PM
4 points
0 comments1 min readLW link

Ran­domWalkNFT: A Game The­ory Exercise

AnnapurnaNov 12, 2021, 7:05 PM
7 points
10 comments2 min readLW link

Im­prov­ing on the Karma System

RaelifinNov 14, 2021, 6:01 PM
105 points
36 comments19 min readLW link

A bridge to Dath Ilan? Im­proved gov­er­nance on the crit­i­cal path to AI al­ign­ment.

Jackson WagnerMay 18, 2022, 3:51 PM
24 points
0 comments12 min readLW link

New co­op­er­a­tion mechanism—quadratic fund­ing with­out a match­ing pool

Filip SondejJun 5, 2022, 1:55 PM
11 points
0 comments5 min readLW link

Crypto loves im­pact mar­kets: Notes from Schel­ling Point Bogotá

Rachel ShuOct 22, 2022, 3:58 PM
17 points
2 comments1 min readLW link

AI psy­chol­ogy should ground the the­o­ries of AI con­scious­ness and in­form hu­man-AI eth­i­cal in­ter­ac­tion design

Roman LeventovJan 8, 2023, 6:37 AM
20 points
8 comments2 min readLW link

Selec­tive, Cor­rec­tive, Struc­tural: Three Ways of Mak­ing So­cial Sys­tems Work

Said AchmizMar 5, 2023, 8:45 AM
99 points
13 comments2 min readLW link