I've been reading about mechanism design and the field seems a little abstract, in that I cannot ascertain whether a certain approach towards solving games falls under mechanism design. Let me clarify with the help of a specific example of an evolutionary game.I have a population within which agents are either mutants or incumbents. The parameters to be decided are: the fraction of the mutants ($\epsilon$)the fitness $F$ of the agentsNow, if I came up with algorithms to define/calculate the above in such a way that the population ends up being evolutionarily stable, would my solution be called a mechanism?Thanks
What does mechanism design constitute? (Game Theory)
gt.game theory;evolutionary game theory;mechanism design
Mechanism design is basically just algorithm design, where you don't control the inputs: instead, you assume that the inputs are controlled by different agents, who each have their own set of feasible actions, and their own utility function over outcomes, and are acting to maximize their own utility (and not yours, as the mechanism designer). So you are constrained in how you can design your algorithm, because you have to design it in such a way so as to manage the incentives of the agents so that they will want to share their data with you. The classic example is designing an auction for a good in such a way so that the bidders will reveal to you how much they really value the good.So the fundamental characteristic in mechanism design is that you have agents who will act independently of the mechanism to further their own goals. Its hard to tell from your description, but it sounds like you simply have an algorithms problem. Possibly your problem is to design an algorithm to compute an equilibrium of some sort, but this would not typically be thought of as mechanism design. 