Alternating-offer games with final-offer arbitration

I analyze an alternating-offer model that integrates the common practice of having an arbitrator determine the outcomes if both players’ offers are rejected. I assume that the arbitrator uses final-offer arbitration (as in professional baseball). I find that if the arbitrator does not excessively favor one player, then the unique subgame-perfect equilibrium always coincides with the subgame-perfect equilibrium outcome in Rubinstein’s infinite-horizon alternating-offer game. However, if the arbitrator sufficiently favors the player making the initial offer, then delay occurs in equilibrium.