Game Theory

This course provides the student with the basic toolset of a modern approach to analyze strategic interactions, called game theory. The covered material includes situations in which agents decide simultaneously or sequentially, while endowed with either perfect or imperfect information. Basic game-theoretic concepts, such as Nash equilibrium, mixed strategy equilibrium, and backward induction, are studied and practiced on numerous examples from business, politics and everyday life. Are arms races inevitable? Why did Alcoa build factories with more capacity than it would ever need? Do cigarette companies advertise “too much”? Why do we use QWERTY keyboards? Can Pepsi and Coke avoid price wars? Why economic sanctions may not work? Why can you never buy a decent used car? Why is it difficult to overthrow an oppressive government? This course introduces tools that enable students answer these and similar questions.