Readings
Textbooks
Required
[MWG] Mas-Collel, Andreu, Michael D. Whinston, and Jerry R. Green. Microeconomic Theory. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1995. ISBN: 9780195073409.
[FT] Fudenberg, Drew, and Jean Tirole. Game Theory. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1991. ISBN: 9780262061414.
Supplementary
Rubinstein, Ariel. Lecture Notes in Microeconomic Theory: The Economic Agent. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2006. ISBN: 9780691120317.
Osborne, Martin J., and Ariel Rubinstein. A Course in Game Theory. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1994. ISBN: 9780262650403.
Readings by Sessions
Supplementary readings were also cited in lecture.
SESĀ # | TOPICS | READINGS |
---|---|---|
1-2 |
Refresher on preference orderings and utility representation The expected utility hypothesis Positive and normative interpretations |
RequiredMWG, chapters 6.A-6.B. SupplementaryHarsanyi, J. C. "Cardinal Welfare, Individualistic Ethics, and Interpersonal Comparisons of Utility." Journal of Political Economy 63 (August 1955): 309-321. Machina, M. "Expected Utility Analysis without the Independence Axiom." Econometrica 50 (1982): 277-323. Tversky, A., and D. Kahnemann. "The Framing of Decisions and the Psychology of Choice." Science 211, no. 4481 (January 30, 1981): 453-458. |
3-4 |
Risk and risk attitudes Stochastic dominance Applications of expected utility in insurance and finance |
RequiredMWG, chapters 6.C-6.D. SupplementaryAthey, S. "Monotone Comparative Statics under Uncertainty." Quarterly Journal of Economics 117, no. 1 (February 2002): 187-223. Kimball, M. S. "Precautionary Saving in the Small and the Large." Econometrica 58 (1990): 53-73. |
5 |
Supermodularity (supermodularity, log-supermodularity, and quasi-supermodularity) and monotone comparative statics Background risk; calibrating risk aversion |
RequiredAthey, S. "Monotone Comparative Statics under Uncertainty." Quarterly Journal of Economics 117, no. 1 (February 2002): 187-223. Supplementary
|
6 | Beyond expected utility |
RequiredMWG, chapters 6.E-6.F. SupplementaryFoster, Dean, and Sergiu Hart. "An Operational Measure of Riskiness." Working Paper, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 2008. (PDF)# Fox, C. R., and A. Tversky. "Ambiguity Aversion and Comparative Ignorance." Quarterly Journal of Economics 110, no. 3 (August 1995): 585-603. Gilboa, I., and D. Schmeidler. "Maximin Expected Utility with a Non-Unique Prior." Journal of Mathematical Economics 18 (1989): 141-153. Klibanoff, P., M. Marinacci, and S. Mukerji. "A Smooth Model of Decision Making under Ambiguity." Econometrica 73, no. 6 (November 2005): 1849-1892. Rabin, M. "Risk Aversion and Expected Utility Theory: A Calibration." Econometrica 68, no. 5 (September 2000): 1281-1292.
|
7 | Refresher on game theory; rationalizability and iterated strict dominance multi-stage games; iterated conditional dominance in bargaining |
RequiredFT, chapters 1, 2.1, 3.1-3.5, 4.1-4.2, and 4.4. |
8 | Equilibrium refinements: sequential equilibrium, trembling-hand perfection, and stability |
RequiredFT, chapter 8. SupplementaryKohlberg, E., and J.-F. Mertens. "On the Strategic Stability of Equilibria." Econometrica 54 (1986): 1003-1038. Kreps, D., and R. Wilson. "Reputation and Imperfect Information." Journal of Economic Theory 27 (1982): 253-279. Selten, R. "Reexamination of the Perfectness Concept for Equilibrium Points in Extensive Form Games." International Journal of Game Theory 4 (1975): 25-55. |
9 | Signaling games |
RequiredFT, chapters 11.1-3. Crawford, V., and J. Sobel. "Strategic Information Transmission." Econometrica 60 (1982): 1431-1450. SupplementaryChen, Y., N. Kartik, and J. Sobel. "Selecting Cheap Talk Equilibria." Econometrica 76, no. 1 (2008): 117-136. Cho, I.-K., and D. Kreps. "Signaling Games and Stable Equilibria." Quarterly Journal of Economics 102, no. 2 (1987): 179-221. Cho, I.-K., and J. Sobel. "Strategic Stability and Uniqueness in Signaling Games." Journal of Economic Theory 50, no. 2 (1990): 381-413. Fudenberg, D., and J. Tirole. "Perfect Bayesian and Sequential Equilibrium." Journal of Economic Theory 53 (1991): 236-260. |
10 | Positive theory of auctions |
RequiredFT, pp. 223-236. Milgrom, P., and R. Weber. "A Theory of Auctions and Competitive Bidding." Econometrica 50 (1982):1089-1122. Vickrey, W. "Counterspeculation, Auctions, and Competitive Sealed Tenders." Journal of Finance 16 (1961): 8-37. |
11 | Global games |
RequiredCarlsson, H., and E. van Damme. "Global Games and Equilibrium Selection." Econometrica 61, no. 5 (1993): 989-1018. SupplementaryMorris, S., and H. S. Shin. "Unique Equilibrium in a Model of Self-fulfilling Currency Attacks." American Economic Review 88, no. 3 (1998): 587-597. |
12 | Repeated games with perfect monitoring |
RequiredFT, chapters 5.1, 5.2, and 5.4. Farrell, J., and E. S. Maskin. "Renegotiation in Repeated Games." Games and Economic Behavior 1 (1989): 327-360. SupplementaryBenoit, J. P., and V. Krishna. "Finitely Repeated Games." Econometrica 53 (1985): 890-904. Fudenberg, D., and E. Maskin. "The Folk Theorem in Repeated Games with Discounting or with Incomplete Information." Econometrica 54 (1986): 533-556. |
13 |
On the power of correlation Review |
SupplementaryFT, chapter 2.2. |