Imitation and the emergence of Nash equilibrium play in games with many players

We model a learning dynamic in which players imitate and innovate. Of interest is to question whether Nash equilibrium play emerges, and if so, the role that imitation plays in this emergence. Our main result provides a general class of coordination game for which approximate Nash equilibrium play does emerge. Important conditions include that players imitate ‘similar’ individuals. The role of imitation in learning is discussed in the context of two examples where it is shown that imitation can lead to Pareto superior outcomes