Prof Bernhard von Stengel COL 4.12 and Dr Paul Dütting

This course is available on the BSc in Accounting and Finance, BSc in Business Mathematics and Statistics, BSc in Management, BSc in Management, BSc in Management Sciences, BSc in Mathematics and Economics and BSc in Mathematics with Economics. This course is available as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit. This course is available with permission to General Course students.

Basic knowledge of matrices as covered in Mathematical Methods (MA100) or Quantitative Methods (MA107). Some knowledge of probability.

Concepts and methods of game theory with applications to economics. Game trees with perfect information, Nim. Backward induction. Extensive and strategic (normal) form of a game. Nash equilibrium. Commitment. Zero sum games, mixed strategies. Maxmin strategies. Nash equilibria in mixed strategies. Finding mixed-strategy equilibria for two-person games. Extensive games with information sets, behaviour strategies, perfect recall. If time permits: The Nash bargaining solution. Multistage bargaining.

20 hours of lectures and 9 hours of classes in the MT. 1 hour of classes in the LT. 2 hours of lectures in the ST.

Written answers to set problems will be expected on a weekly basis.

Lecture notes will be provided. K Binmore, Playing for Real: Game Theory CUP, 2007; E Mendelson, Introducing Game Theory and Its Applications.

Exam (100%, duration: 2 hours) in the main exam period.