This textbook offers a systematic, self-contained account of the main contributions
of modern game theory and its applications to economics. Starting with a
detailed description of how to model strategic situations, the discussion proceeds
by studying basic solution concepts, their main refinements, games played under
incomplete information, and repeated games. For each of these theoretical developments,
there is a companion set of applications that cover the most representative
instances of game-theoretic analysis in economics, e.g., oligopolistic competition,
public goods, coordination failures, bargaining, insurance markets, implementation
theory, signaling, and auctions. The theory and applications covered in the
first part of the book fall under the so-called classical approach to game theory,
which is founded on the paradigm of players’ unlimited rationality. The second
part shifts toward topics that no longer abide by that paradigm. This leads to the
study of important topics such as the interplay between evolution and rationality,
the behavioral dynamics induced by social learning, and how players might tackle
the problem of multiple equilibria.
Fernando Vega-Redondo is currently Professor at the Universidad de Alicante and
the Universitat Pompeu Fabra. His recent research has focused on both game theory
and learning and other interdisciplinary fields such as evolution and Complex
networks. His papers have been published in a wide array of influential journals
including Econometrica, Journal of Economic Theory, International Economic
Review, Games and Economic Behavior, Economic Theory, Journal of Theoretical
Biology, and Physical Review Letters. Professor Vega-Redondo is author of the
book Evolution, Games and Economic Behavior and the Spanish-language textbook
Econom′ıa y Juegos: Teor′ıa y Aplicaciones. He has been a visiting scholar
at the Indian Statistical Institute; the Institute for Advanced Studies in Vienna;
the Hebrew University of Jerusalem; and the Universities of Harvard, California –
San Diego, and Boston. He is co-editor of Spanish Economic Review and member
of the Editorial Board of Lecture Notes in Economics and Mathematical Systems.
Professor Vega-Redondo received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota.