School of Economics
Academic Year 2015-16
Term 1
ECON 206
GAME THEORY
Instructor Name
: Ken Onishi
Email
: [email protected]
Tel
: 6808-7943
Office
: SOE 5051
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course is an introduction to game theory, the study of strategic behavior among parties
having opposed, mixed or similar interests. This course helps to sharpen your understanding
of strategic behavior in economic, political and social situations. You will learn how to model
the strategic situations as games and you will also study various solution concepts to predict
outcome.
We start from examining normal form games and proceed to extensive form games, games
with incomplete information and mechanism design. You will also be exposed to various
applications related to economics, political economy, international relationships and so on.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
The objective of this course is to provide you with sufficient knowledge of game theory to
understand strategic interactions among players. In studying game theory, students will
acquire the ability to think strategically, to understand and explain a wide range of real-world
problems.
ASSESSMENT METHODS
Class Participation
Homework
Mid-term Test
Final Examination
Total
: 10%
: 10%
: 35%
: 45%
: 100%
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
All acts of academic dishonesty (including, but not limited to, plagiarism, cheating, fabrication,
facilitation of acts of academic dishonesty by others, unauthorized possession of exam questions, or
tampering with the academic work of other students) are serious offences.
All work (whether oral or written) submitted for purposes of assessment must be the student’s own
work. Penalties for violation of the policy range from zero marks for the component assessment to
expulsion, depending on the nature of the offense.
When in doubt, students should consult the instructors of the course. Details on the SMU Code of
Academic Integrity may be accessed at http://www.smuscd.org/resources.html.
1
CLASS TIMINGS
Class sessions are of 3-hour duration per week. Each session will involve a lecture and a discussion
of related topics.
TEXT BOOKS
1. Lecture Note: the lecture note is self-contained and comprehensive. You will be able to download
it from the course website.
2. Martin J. Osborne, An Introduction to Game Theory, International Edition, Oxford University
Press, 2009.
SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS
1. Robert Gibbons, A Primer in Game Theory, Pearson Education, 1992.
For a more advanced level of study, you can refer to
2. Martin J. Osborne and Ariel Rubinstein, A Course in Game Theory, The MIT Press, 1994.
WEEKLY LESSON PLAN
Week
Topic
Readings
1
Games with perfect information, Nash equilibrium
2
Nash equilibrium, Applications
3
Mixed strategy equilibrium
4
Extensive game with perfect information
5
Extensive game with perfect information
6
Bayesian games
7
Bayesian games, Midterm Exam
Lecture Note 1
Text Book Chapter 1 ,2
Lecture Note 2
Text Book Chapter 3
Lecture Note 3
Text Book Chapter 4
Lecture Note 4
Text Book Chapter 5
Lecture Note 5
Text Book Chapter 6
Lecture Note 6
Text Book Chapter 9
Lecture Note 7
Text Book Chapter 9
8
Recess Week
9
Finitely repeated games, Infinitely repeated games
Lecture Note 8
10
Infinitely repeated games
Lecture Note 9
11
Auctions
12
Mechanism Design
Lecture Note 11
13
Mechanism Design
Lecture Note 12
Lecture Note 10
Text Book Chapter 6, 9
14
Revision Week
15
Final Examination
Important Notes
2
1. Homework will be assigned regularly. Students are strongly encouraged to work together
on the problem sets. Students can make one group (the maximum number is four), and
hand in homework together, with every member’s name on it. Doing homework is a
crucial learning process in this course. Copying others’ homework will cause a serious
consequence in the exams.
3