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Game Theory


6.3 Brides for Seven Brothers (8/31/1999)

Sex-selective abortions in China, South Korea, and Taiwan have resulted in excess of male over female births.

Keywords: abortion, amniocentesis, birth ratio, boys, bride, China, girls, infanticide, one-child policy, pension, son preference, South Korea, Taiwan, ultrasound

Aborting White Flight (11/1/2000)

An ethnically integrated neighborhood may not come about or persist if it is not reinforced by deliberate intervention.

Keywords: affirmative marketing, fear of integration, invisible hand, neighborhood integration, prisoner's dilemma, property value, white flight

Battles of Standards (5/9/2006)

Winners in the battle among proprietary standards can keep out competitors and lock in existing customers

Keywords: Apple, Betamax, Blu-ray DVD, HD DVD, IBM, Microsoft, open standards, proprietary standards, VHS

Coordination Game and Congestion Game (11/2/2011)

Multi-party coordination game and congestion game.

Keywords: congestion game, coordination game

Critical-mass Game and Gender Preference Game (11/2/2011)

Multi-party binary-choice games.

Keywords: critical mass, gender preference

Fat Nation (9/3/2005)

Through innocent pursuit of self-interests, Americans have grown fat with the food industry.

Keywords: Adam Smith, biomass index, calories, fast food, fat, game theory, invisible hand, soft drinks

Games Are Serious and Ubiquitous (7/7/2006)

In game-theoretic situations, organization and coordination are needed to ensure the compatibility of individual and group interests.

Keywords: binary choice, coordination, dominant strategy, free market, game, game theory, government intervention, group interest, organization, PD, prisoner’s dilemma, self-interest, strategic behavior

Games people play (transcript) (3/27/2007)

Narrated lecture on multi-party games involving binary choices.

Keywords: binary choice, congestion, coordination, critical mass, dominant strategy, externality, game theory, gender, invisible hand, nash equilibrium, payoff matrix, prisoner's dilemma, Schelling, stable solution

Invisible-hand Game and Prisoner's Dilemma Game (11/2/2011)

Games involving binary choices can be better illustrated with N number of players rather than just two players. The invisible-hand game and the prisoner's dilemma game are featured examples in this first in a series of 3 video lectures on game theory.

Keywords: binary choices, game theory, invisible hand game, payoff matrix, PD game, prisoner's dilemma

Lending an Invisible Hand (11/30/2010)

The efforts to polish my resume for selfish reasons ended up helping many worthy causes.

Keywords: Adam Smith, collective good, game theory, group interest, invisible hand game, self-interest

On Your Mark. Get Set. Scrub! (11/30/2010)

When the majority chooses the “right” choice, it pays off to choose the “left,” especially when it comes to personal hygiene.

Keywords: collective optimum, congestion, game theory, showers

Please Sit Down! (8/22/2012)

A prisoner's dilemma results when people compete for limited positional goods. Individually smart, but collectively dumb.

Keywords: basketball game, economics cartoon, positional goods, prisoner's dilemma

Prisoner's Dilemma (11/2/2011)

Individually smart, collectively dumb.

Keywords: confession, prisoner's dilemma, robbery, trust

Rebate Coupons (9/11/2007)

Mail-in rebate coupons succeed in promoting sales at relatively low cost because of low redemption rates.

Keywords: discount coupons, price discrimination, product promotion, rebate coupons, redemption hurdles

Right Priority (9/11/2007)

Inconsistent or unclear traffic rules in Belgium have turned a co-ordination game into a game of chicken.

Keywords: Belgium, coordination game, game of chicken, right priority, traffic accidents

Systems Competition and Network Effects (9/26/2000)

A dominant network based on a near universal standard can internalize a great deal of system externality to the benefits of network users and can persist even in the face of technically superior competing networks.

Keywords: compatibility, complementary products, coordination, expectation, network externality, system

The Evolution of Defectors and Cooperators (8/13/1999)

There is selective advantage in being always honest even when it may be disadvantageous to do so at times.

Keywords: advantage, charitable, cooperators, Darwinism, defectors, detection, evolution, free ride, payoff

Tipping the Scales (1/16/2006)

Tipping for service is a social custom that traps everybody into a collectively inferior position.

Keywords: doormen, gratuity, prisoner's dilemma, service, social custom, tax, tip, tipping, trap

Tragedy of the Commons (11/2/2011)

Unlimited entry could easily lead to over-exploitation of commons resources.

Keywords: AP, average product, commons, marginal product, MP, over-exploitation, tragedy

Who Is Over a Barrel? (1/20/2015)

The impact of low oil prices on oil output depends on the cost structures of different types of oils.

Keywords: demand, fixed cost, oil sands, OPEC, shale oil, supply, variable cost

Who Sets the Curve? (11/22/2003)

Even though extra study time will improve only one's absolute position but not one's relative position in the grading curve, competitive pressure will ensure that any agreement to not out-study each other will be broken.

Keywords: curve, dominant strategy, grade curving, PD, prisoner's dilemma