STATISTICS 473/ECONOMICS 473
Game Theory
Spring 2019
Instructor: David Marker
Class Meets: TR 9:30-10:45 Stevenson Hall 303
Office: 404 SEO
Office Hours: Mon 12:30-2:30, Wed 9:00-10:30
phone: (312) 996-3069
e-mail: marker@uic.edu
course webpage: http://www.math.uic.edu/~marker/stat473-S19
The grader Elena Graetz will have office hours on Fridays 10-12, 3-4 in the Math and Sciences Learning Center, 3rd floor SES
This webpage will be the primary source for problem sets and course handouts.
There will also be a course site on UIC Blackboard where I will post solutions
to homework and grade information.
Text
- J. Harrington, Games, Strategies and Decision Making , Worth, 2015.
Another useful book is Steven Tadelis, Game Theory: An Introduction, Princeton University Press, New York, Oxford, 2013.
Prerequisites
The formal mathematical prerequisites are minimal, but the
course will be fairly rigorous and will require the ability to follow closely reasoned
arguments and solve problems.
Students should have some familiarity with
- basic probability--expectation, Bayes rule
- basic calculus--particularly using calculus (and partial derivatives) to find maxima and minima
If you are unsure if you have necessary background, please consult with the instructor.
Description
Game Theory is the study of mathematical models of strategic decision making
with interacting decision makers.
This course will introduce the main concepts and tools of the subjects. The course will focus more on
concepts and illustrative examples than mathematical theory
The topics covered will include:
- Strategic games, mixed strategies, Nash equilibrium, duopoly;
- Extensive games of perfect information;
- Repeated games;
- Bayesian games;
- Extensive games of imperfect information;
- Evolutionary Games
- If time permits, additional topics will be chosen based on the interests of the class. Possible additional topics include
evolutionary games, cooperative games and bargaining.
For more details consult the week-by-week syllabus
Problem Sets
- There will be frequent problem sets that will be collected and graded. The two lowest grades will be dropped. Late homework will be accepted only in exceptional circumstances.
For full credit problem sets must be written carefully and clearly.
- You may discuss homework problems with other students, but you must write up your solution independently.
- Solutions to Problem Sets will be posted on the course Blackboard webpage.
- The text contains many Check Your Understanding problems with solutions in the back. Doing these problems is probably the best way to study the material.
- Problem Set 1 due Tuesday Jan 22
- Problem Set 2: Do the following Exercises from the text. Chapter 2: 5, 8, 12. Chapter 3: 3, 7, 8 due Tuesday Jan 29
- Problem Set 3 due Tuesday Feb 5
- Problem Set 4: Do the following Exercises from the text. Chapter 4: 16, 17.
Chapter 5: 3, 5. due Tuesday Feb 12
- Problem Set 5 due Tuesday Feb 19
- Problem Set 6 due Tuesday March 5
- Problem Set 7 due Tuesday March 12
- Problem Set 8: Do the following Exercises from the text. Chapter 10: 2, 5, 14, 17.
due Tuesday March 19
- Problem Set 9 due Tuesday April 9
- Problem Set 10: Do the following Exercises from the text. Chapter 11: 2, 5, 8, 9
due Tuesday April 16 (In problem 2 look for a PBE equilibrium where Jack always
offers a gift and Rose accepts if and only if she loves Jack).
- Problem Set 11 due Tuesday April 30
- Problems to try from Chapter 16: 3, 5, 7 These problems will not be handed in. I will
post solutions on Blackboard.
Grading
There will be two midterm exams and a final. The final grade will be based 20% on the problem sets, 25% for each midterm exam and 30% on the final.
Midterm 1: Tuesday February 26
Midterm 2: Tuesday April 23
Final Exam: Wednesday May 8 10:30-12:30
Handouts and Useful Links
Game Theory in the Movies
Game Theory on British TV Game Show
David Marker's homepage
Last Revised: 3/18/19