INTRODUCTION TO GAME THEORY

Heinrich H. Nax Bary S. R. Pradelski&

heinrich.nax@uzh.ch bpradelski@cnrs.ch

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THANK YOUfor joining our course again in high numbersand please forgive us if you are dissatisfied with our course in this re-mote formatand give us (any!) feedback (in any form) so we feel good and/or wecan improve

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The first two lectures

Part 1: Course admin – these slidesAims and requirementsTalk schedule

Part 2: A “sort-of” introduction to the theory of games

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Part 1: Course admin

Information about the course (in the main body of the page), andmaterials/slides of speakers (at the very bottom for download), will bemade available athttps://gametheory.online/project_show/9

Also, please contact us directly if you have any questions about thecourse (but please be aware that we will struggle to reply to 400+students...):

Heinrich: heinrich.nax@uzh.chBary: bary.pradelski@cnrs.fr

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Original plan

Daily lectures during the final May week, morning and afternooncohorts, with some attendance flexibilityGroup projects as coursework

in teams formed endogenously during the weekon topics developed during the week

Crowned by the inaugural John von Neumann lecture on the Friday...

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Complicated by social distancing orders

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Contingency plan

Lectures with slides and audio recorded and made available during themonth of May

Communication via edoz and emailsAll lectures available by the beginning of the final week of May

Slides without audio available for download athttps://gametheory.online/project_show/9Audio slides made available as dropbox downloads

John von Neumann lecture held on Friday, May 29, 2020, at 10AM,remotely with an introduction by Sarah Springman — details to beconfirmed!

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Coursework

We will post a list of topics, with the possibility for proposals of ownprojects

Students can select a topic that they likeGroups are randomly formed based on who went for which project – aminimum of 3 persons per team is required with a maximum of 5persons

Groups will collaboratively author a 10-page report on the project topicThe project will be marked at the group levelPeer review will be used to translate group marks into individual marks

More details including a first list of project options will be announced inthe coming weeks

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Example

One project is on the “effects of social distancing policies on the spreadof COVID-19 in Switzerland”

4 students signed up to this project and form a groupThey organize themselves (MS Teams, Overleaf, or similar)

review the existing literaturefollow the newsformulate the problem with game-theoretic toolsperform simulations to predict the spread of COVID-19 as function ofdifferent policy options

Deliver a 10-page report

Which receives full marks, and all group members peer-review eachother in the most favorable terms, resulting in full marks for everyone

... and they lived happily ever after ... ;)

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Schedule (preliminary) I1) Introduction: a quick tour of game theory Heinrich Nax2) Cooperative game theory Heinrich Nax

•Core and Shapley value•Matching markets

3) Non-cooperative game theory: Normal form Bary Pradelski•Utilities•Best replies

4) The Nash equilibrium Bary Pradelski•Proof•Interpretations and refinements

5) Non-cooperative game theory: dynamics Bary Pradelski•Sub-game perfection and Bayes-Nash equilibrium•Repeated games

6) Game theory: evolution Bary Pradelski•Evolutionary game theory•Algorithms in computer science (Price of anarchy)

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Schedule (preliminary) II7) Experimental game theory Heinrich Nax

•Observing human behavior/experiments•Behavioral game theory

8) Applications Heinrich Nax•Common pool resources•Distributed control

9) Bargaining Heinrich Nax•Solution concepts•Nash program

10) Auctions Bary Pradelski•English, Dutch, Sealed, Open•Equivalence and Real-world examples: 3G, Google, etc

11) John von Neumann lecture – Herve Moulin May 29, 202012) FEEDBACK Q&A Heinrich Nax

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THANKS EVERYBODYand keep checking the website for new materials as we progress:http://gametheory.online/project_show/9

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