The class meets from 2:10 to 5pm on Thursdays in SS1069. From 2:10 to 3pm there is a tutorial, and from 3:10 to 5pm a lecture. A tutorial on Problem Set 11 will be held on Friday April 19 from 2:10pm to 3pm in MP134 (McLennan Physical Labs).
In the following schedule, IGT refers to my book An introduction to game theory.
- Week 1
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Strategic games and Nash equilibrium (IGT Chapter 1 and 2.1–2.7).
- Week 2
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Competition between firms: the models of Bertrand and Cournot (IGT 3.2 and 3.1). Using best response functions to find Nash equilibria in general games (IGT 2.8)
- Week 3
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Electoral competition (IGT 3.3).
- Week 4
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Dominated actions and players' reasoning about each others' rationality (IGT 2.9; see also 12.2 and 12.3, although the treatment there is more advanced than the one in class).
- Week 5
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Weakly dominated actions in Hotelling's model, Bertrand's model, and model of voting (IGT 2.9.3). Mixed strategy Nash equilibrium (IGT 4.1–4.3 and 4.5).
You can do problems 1-6 on the basis of the material I covered in class on February 7. You should be able to answer problems 7 and 8 also, but the material that I will cover at the start of class on February 14 will help you do so. Thus you may want to wait until the class on February 14 before attempting those problems. - Week 6
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Discussion of experiment; formation of players' beliefs (IGT 4.9). Mixed strategy Nash equilibrium: theory and applications (IGT 4.3, 4.5, 4.6, and 4.8).
- Week 7
- Midterm exam. The exam will cover all the material through the material on the slides for week 5. (We may cover some of that material at the start of the class for week 6.) Students with last names from A to Li will write in MS 3163 (Medical Sciences building); students will last names from Liang to Z will write in WI 1017 (Wilson Hall, New College). If you come to the wrong room, we will ask you to go to the right one, so please carefully note the room to which you are assigned.
- Week 8
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Auctions: private value sealed-bid auctions under first- and second-price rules; common value auctions (IGT 9.6).
- Week 9
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Extensive games: subgame perfect equilibrium (IGT 5.1-5.5).
- Week 10
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Extensive games: Stackelberg duopoly; ultimatum and holdup games (IGT 6.1, 6.2).
- Week 11
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Repeated games and collusion (IGT 14.1-14.12).
- Week 12
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The core, matching, and the deferred acceptance algorithm (IGT 8.1, 8.2, and 8.7)