ECO290E: Game Theory
Last updated: March 31
Term / Time:
Winter / Wed 9:00-12:00
Class room: G
(5th Floor)
Office hours:
Wed 15:30-17:30, Room C911
Syllabus: a word file
0. Announcement
(Released
date, “Comments”)
2008/03/31, “Comments
on the final exam and grading are uploaded.” New!
2008/03/28,
“I just finished grading, and your final exam will be returned to your mail
boxes on Monday.”
2008/03/18,
“We finished all the lectures. I really appreciate those who take this course.
Good luck with your final exam!”
2008/03/14,
“A practice exam is uploaded (see the lecture 14 “Review session” below).”
2008/03/12,
“Slide files for Lecture 12 and 13 are uploaded.”
2008/03/11,
“A practice exam will be uploaded (and also e-mailed to you) this Friday, and
we will cover the material in class next Wednesday.”
2008/03/11,
“The slide for Lecture 11 is updated.”
2008/03/07,
“There will be a final exam on March 21 (Friday), at 6th period
(18:20-19:50) in room G.” Very important!
2008/03/07,
“Slide files for Lecture 10 and 11 are uploaded.”
2008/02/29,
“Slide files for Lecture 8 and 9 are uploaded.”
2008/02/27,
“Lecture schedule is slightly modified.”
2008/02/22,
“I finished grading, and add a comment file for the midterm.”
2008/02/22,
“Midterm exam and its solution keys are uploaded. I will briefly explain the
answers on Wednesday. Have a nice weekend!”
2008/02/14,
“A slide file for Lecture 6 is uploaded.”
2008/02/13,
“Slide files for Lecture 4 and 5 are uploaded.”
2008/02/13,
“There will be a mid-term exam on next Friday (Feb. 22nd), at the
6th period (18:20-19:50).” Very important!
2008/02/13,
“There will be no class on next Wednesday (Feb. 20th).” Important!
2008/02/07,
“A slide file for the third lecture is uploaded.”
2008/02/06, “A
slide file for the second lecture is uploaded (The third lecture slide will be
available soon!).”
2008/02/06,
“There will be a make-up class at the second period on next Thursday
(Feb. 14th, 10:35-12:05).” Important!
2008/02/06,
“The first period lecture on next week (Feb. 13th, 9:00-10:30) will be moved
to the 6th period (18:20-19:50) on the same day.” Important!
2008/02/05,
“Tomorrow, we will meet at 9:00 am, NOT at 10:35, since our class schedule has
been changed.”
2008/02/05,
“Course outline has been updated. (the topics we will cover tomorrow are
unchanged)”
2008/01/30,
“A power-point slide for the first lecture is uploaded!”
2008/01/30,
“The time schedule of the lecture is changed: now we have two morning
classes.” Important!
2008/01/29,
“The following topics will be covered in the first lecture: self-introduction,
what Game Theory is, the importance of strategic thinking, introduction to Nash
equilibrium.”
2008/01/29,
“There will be no office hours tomorrow, so please catch me after the class if
you have any questions.”
2008/01/24,
“25 students have tentatively registered this class!”
2008/01/23,
“The lecture at the 6th period (18:20-19:50) on Jan 30th will be cancelled.”
1. Course Description
This is an
introductory course in game theory, which will provide you with mathematical
tools for analyzing strategically interdependent situations where the outcome
of your actions depends also on the actions of others. In particular, we will
study non-cooperative solution concepts such as Nash equilibrium, subgame
perfect equilibrium, and Bayesian equilibrium. To illustrate the analytical
value of these tools, we will cover a variety of applications.
2. Lecture Slides Each slide will be uploaded after corresponding class.
1:
Introduction and motivation (a ppt file)
2:
Static games and Nash equilibrium (a ppt file)
3:
Why and how is Nash equilibrium reached? (a ppt file)
4:
Applications in industrial organization (a ppt file)
5:
Mixed strategy equilibrium (a ppt file)
6:
Dynamic games and backward induction (a ppt file)
7:
Midterm exam (60 minutes, 80 points) (midterm,
solution, comments)
8:
Games in extensive-form (a ppt file)
9:
Subgame perfect equilibrium (a ppt file)
10:
Examples of dynamic games (a ppt file)
11:
Repeated games (a ppt file)
12:
Static games of incomplete information (a ppt file)
13:
Dynamic games of incomplete information (a ppt file)
14:
Review session (practice exam)
15:
Final exam (90 minutes, 120 points) (final,
comments, comments
on grading)
3. Grading
Course grade
will be determined by combining grades on a midterm exam (40%) and a final exam (60%).
4. Textbooks
There is no
official textbook for the class. While lecture notes will be the main material for
the class, the following text is recommended for those who need supplementary
readings.
Robert Gibbons, Game Theory for Applied Economists, 1992
A useful text
at roughly the same level as Gibbons, but contains variety of examples, is:
Martin Osborne, An Introduction to Game Theory, 2004
Those of you
interested in pursuing the subject further may consult the following advanced
and authoritative sources.
Drew Fudenberg and Jean
Tirole, Game Theory, 1991
Roger Myerson, Game Theory, 1991
Martin Osborne and Ariel
Rubinstein, A Course in Game Theory,
1994
The following
book contains many examples of game theory in action, both in business and in
everyday life.
Barry Nalebuff and
Avinash Dixit, Thinking Strategically,
1991
Finally, the
following recent text provides a lively introduction to the game-theoretic
perspective on economic development.
Bruce Wydick, Games in Economic Development, 2007
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