Equilibria of Time-inconsistent Stopping for One-dimensional Diffusion Processes

Abstract: We consider three equilibrium concepts proposed in the literature for time-inconsistent stopping problems, including mild equilibria, weak equilibria and strong equilibria. The discount function is assumed to be log sub-additive and the underlying process is one-dimensional diffusion. We first provide necessary and sufficient conditions for the characterization of weak equilibria. The smooth-fit condition is obtained as a by-product. Next, based on the characterization of weak equilibria, we show that an optimal mild equilibrium is also weak. Then we provide conditions under which a weak equilibrium is strong. We further show that an optimal mild equilibrium is also strong under a certain condition. Finally, we provide several examples including one shows a weak equilibrium may not be strong, and another one shows a strong equilibrium may not be optimal mild.