Finite horizon bargaining and the consistent field

We explore the relationships between noncooperative bargaining games and th e consistent value for nontransferable utility (NTU) cooperative games. A d ynamic approach to the consistent value is introduced: the consistent vecto r field. The main contribution is to establish that the consistent field is intimately related to the concept of subgame perfection for finite horizon noncooperative bargaining games, as the horizon goes to infinity and the c ost of delay goes to zero. We then show that in the general NTU case-unlike the transferable utility and pure bargaining cases-the finite horizon subg ame perfect equilibria need not approach the consistent value. (C) 1999 Aca demic Press.