TOPICS IN GAME THEORY

Single discipline educational activity

Course Sheet

Academic Year of enrolment:

2021/2022

Type of Course:

Characterising

Optional/Mandatory:

Compulsory

Degree:

Master's Degree Programme in BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Location:

SASSARI

Disciplinary Sector:

MATHEMATICAL METHODS OF ECONOMICS, FINANCE AND ACTUARIAL SCIENCES

Language:

Italian

Credits:

Programme Year:

Professor and Collaborators:

ANTOCI Angelo

Hours of classroom activity:

Prerequisites:

Notions of elementary algebra.

AF code:

A002979

Assessment Methods

Verification of learning:

The examination consists of a written test and an oral test.
The written test will consist of exercises and theoretical questions related to the contents of Chapter 7 of Kreps' book.
The oral test will cover one of the specific topics covered in the course; immediately after taking the written exam, each student will be assigned one of the Topics covered in the lectures; the student will have at least 3 days to prepare for the oral test by which the level of understanding of what was discussed in the lectures will be assessed.

Teaching period

First semester

Objectives

The objective of the course is to provide students with the basic notions of game theory and to deal with some choice problems of the Public Administration in which game theory proves to be a useful tool of analysis.

Contents

1) Elements of game theory: pure and mixed strategies, payoff matrices, dominance relations, Nash equilibria, games in extensive forms, etc.
2) Hints of evolutionary game theory.
3) Material and immaterial payoffs: weak and strong reciprocity, inequality aversion, altruism.
4) Problems of public goods provision: cooperative and free-riding behaviors. Role of monetary incentives, social approval, and moral judgments in disincentivizing free riding.
5) Production of public goods in laboratory: behavioral theories and laboratory experiments.
6) Environmental goods and inequality: the role of self-protective choices.
7) Credence goods: information asymmetries, and the evolutionary dynamics of trust. Applications to health services.
8) Clinical risk, defensive medicine and litigious patients. An evolutionary approach.
9) Inspection game: problems of ineffectiveness of Public Administration policies.
10) Social capital and relational goods: the role of social networks and social poverty traps.
11) The consensus game: human capital of voters and quality of public choices.
12) Urban degradation, crime, and the dynamics of fear. The role of Public Administration.

Recommended Bibliography

1) Slides projected in class will be made available on the Moodle platform.
2) David M. Kreps, Microeconomics for Managers, Chapter 7 "Strategic Behavior," Egea, Milan, 2004 and later editions.

Methods of Provision

Conventional

Teaching Methods

Lectures. In-class discussion of topics concerning the Public administration choices.

Contacts/More Information

Availability to provide a tutoring service and additional explanations in the classroom, in Italian and English, with special attention for students with disabilities.
Availability of providing teaching material and bibliographic references also in English.
Availability to provide the exams text in English.

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TOPICS IN GAME THEORY