On Fixed Point Theory and Its Applications to Equilibrium Models

Abstract

For a given set and a given (generally speaking, multivalued) mapping of this set into itself, we study the problem on the existence of fixed points of this mapping, i.e., of points contained in their images. We assume that the given set is nonempty and the given mapping is defined on the entire set. In these conditions, we give the description (redefinition) of the set of fixed points in the set-theoretic terms. This general idea is concretized for cases where the set is endowed with a topological structure and the mapping has additional properties associated with this structure. In particular, we provide necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of fixed points of mappings with closed graph in Hausdorff topological spaces as well as in metric spaces. An example illustrating the possibilities and advantages of the proposed approach is given. The immediate applications of these results to the search of equilibrium states in game problems are also given: we describe the sets of saddle points in the minimax problem (an analogue of the Fan theorem) and of Nash equilibrium points in the game with many participants in cases where the sets of strategies of players are Hausdorff spaces or metrizable topological spaces.