Stockholm university
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Economic strategic thinking

The aim of this course is to deepen the understanding of strategic thinking building on insights from game theory and experimental economics.

Game theory, or interactive decision theory which is a more appropriate name, concerns cases when the consequences of one’s actions depend on what other agents do. Examples of such situations are firms that compete on an oligopoly market, political candidates that position themselves before an election, fishermen that harvest the same lake, bidders in an auction and students that try to maintain a clean dormitory kitchen. Whereas game theory is largely concerned with the normative question about how rational agents ought to behave, experimental economics studies to what extent human beings behave according to the theoretical predictions. The teaching in this course builds on classroom experiments that will be conducted in class and the discussion that follows these experiments. The focus of the course is on the main game theoretical ideas, not on the underlying mathematical theory.

  • Course structure

    This is a 7.5 credit course. One week of full-time studies equals 1.5 credits.

    Course material will be available through the learning platform Athena during the course.

    Teaching format

    Instruction is given in the form of lectures. The language of instruction is English.

    Assessment

    The course is examined on the basis of a written examination.

    Examiner

    Michael Lundholm

    Course director:
    Adam Jacobsson

  • Schedule

    The schedule will be available no later than one month before the start of the course. We do not recommend print-outs as changes can occur. At the start of the course, your department will advise where you can find your schedule during the course.
  • Course literature

    Note that the course literature can be changed up to two months before the start of the course.

    Dixit, A., Skeath, S. och David H. Reiley, Games of Strategy, latest edition.

  • Contact

    Academic advisor and teacher
    Director of studies bachelor's and master's level