Towards Performatively Stable Equilibria in Decision-Dependent Games for Arbitrary Data Distribution Maps

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Zhong, Guangzheng, Liu, Yang, Liu, Jiming
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Zhong, Guangzheng
Liu, Yang
Liu, Jiming
author_facet Zhong, Guangzheng
Liu, Yang
Liu, Jiming
contents In decision-dependent games, multiple players optimize their decisions under a data distribution that shifts with their joint actions, creating complex dynamics in applications like market pricing. A practical consequence of these dynamics is the \textit{performatively stable equilibrium}, where each player's strategy is a best response under the induced distribution. Prior work relies on $β$-smoothness, assuming Lipschitz continuity of loss function gradients with respect to the data distribution, which is impractical as the data distribution maps, i.e., the relationship between joint decision and the resulting distribution shifts, are typically unknown, rendering $β$ unobtainable. To overcome this limitation, we propose a gradient-based sensitivity measure that directly quantifies the impact of decision-induced distribution shifts. Leveraging this measure, we derive convergence guarantees for performatively stable equilibria under a practically feasible assumption of strong monotonicity. Accordingly, we develop a sensitivity-informed repeated retraining algorithm that adjusts players' loss functions based on the sensitivity measure, guaranteeing convergence to performatively stable equilibria for arbitrary data distribution maps. Experiments on prediction error minimization game, Cournot competition, and revenue maximization game show that our approach outperforms state-of-the-art baselines, achieving lower losses and faster convergence.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_02619
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Towards Performatively Stable Equilibria in Decision-Dependent Games for Arbitrary Data Distribution Maps
Zhong, Guangzheng
Liu, Yang
Liu, Jiming
Computer Science and Game Theory
Machine Learning
In decision-dependent games, multiple players optimize their decisions under a data distribution that shifts with their joint actions, creating complex dynamics in applications like market pricing. A practical consequence of these dynamics is the \textit{performatively stable equilibrium}, where each player's strategy is a best response under the induced distribution. Prior work relies on $β$-smoothness, assuming Lipschitz continuity of loss function gradients with respect to the data distribution, which is impractical as the data distribution maps, i.e., the relationship between joint decision and the resulting distribution shifts, are typically unknown, rendering $β$ unobtainable. To overcome this limitation, we propose a gradient-based sensitivity measure that directly quantifies the impact of decision-induced distribution shifts. Leveraging this measure, we derive convergence guarantees for performatively stable equilibria under a practically feasible assumption of strong monotonicity. Accordingly, we develop a sensitivity-informed repeated retraining algorithm that adjusts players' loss functions based on the sensitivity measure, guaranteeing convergence to performatively stable equilibria for arbitrary data distribution maps. Experiments on prediction error minimization game, Cournot competition, and revenue maximization game show that our approach outperforms state-of-the-art baselines, achieving lower losses and faster convergence.
title Towards Performatively Stable Equilibria in Decision-Dependent Games for Arbitrary Data Distribution Maps
topic Computer Science and Game Theory
Machine Learning
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.02619