This one-day (6-hour) workshop provides an introduction to game theory, with a focus on the formal mathematical modeling of social interactions. Bargaining, principal-agent relations, and delegation problems arise constantly in society, business, and politics. While human behavior is complex, identifiable patterns of rationality tend to emerge — particularly when stakes are high. When do people choose cooperation over conflict? Under what conditions do investors trust their brokers? When do governments choose to delegate decision-making power to committees? And what determines the level of donations political parties receive during campaigns? This workshop addresses these questions at a general level of abstraction, combining conceptual clarity with mathematical rigor.
By the end of the workshop, participants will be familiar with the concept of Nash equilibrium and how to identify it in well-known games such as the Prisoner's Dilemma. They will also have been introduced to general models of bargaining, cooperation, and delegation. Following the workshop, the instructor will provide interested participants with a set of problems to test their ability to analyze different games, along with individualized feedback on their solutions.
Participants with varying levels of mathematical background are welcome. Some problems require only common sense and intuitive reasoning; others draw on high-school-level concepts such as derivatives. Brief recaps of relevant mathematical tools will be provided as needed. The primary goal is to develop an understanding of the logic and mechanics of strategic interaction, not to master computational techniques.
Instructor: David Avagian (@email)
David Avagian is a Visiting Scholar in the Department of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He is based in Mannheim, Germany, where he is affiliated with the Chair of Political Economy and is completing his dissertation. He received his B.A. from the Higher School of Economics in Saint Petersburg and his M.A. from the University of Mannheim, both with a focus on political methodology. David employs formal modeling in his research and teaches a master's-level course in game theory.
Questions? For more information about this or any of the ISSR Summer Methodology Workshops, please contact ISSR's Director of Research Methods Programs, Jessica Pearlman ([email protected]).