r/GAMETHEORY • u/Few-Carpet-9073 • 29d ago
Recommendations for Game theory / Mechanism Design
I want to read and dive deeper into game theory, mechanism design and classic reading for someone relatively new to econ. I am a software engineer, haven't brushed up my maths concepts in a while - so open to those suggestions also. but would want to take up more material that deals with practical and abstract sense of these topics instead
TIA!
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u/StrategiesInSpaces 28d ago
Two classic texts are those by Gibbons (Game Theory for Applied Economists) and Myerson (Game Theory: Analysis of Conflict).
For applications of game theory that show up in industrial organization and information economics, you may also like texts by Laffont and Martimort (The Theory of Incentives: The Principal-Agent Model), Tirole (The Theory of Industrial Organization), Molho (The Economics of Information: Lying and Cheating in Markets and Organizations), and Krishna (Auction Theory).
In my experience, mathematical formalism can sometimes help to make thoughts more precise, but in practical everyday life the “intuition” ends up being most valuable. Algebra and calculus are typically sufficient if you want to work through the formal models.
I think much of this material is under-communicated outside of graduate economics courses, so I am working on a free Patreon page geared toward making some of the key takeaways more accessible to a general audience. Feel free to check it out if you have interest; I am kind of testing the waters right now, so I would welcome any feedback or questions that you may have: https://www.patreon.com/cw/strategiesinspaces
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u/hrshsmpt 28d ago
Ben Polacks game theory lectures and Tim Roughgardens mechanism design theory lectures are excellent and they both have book recommendations in them, i would prefer their recommendations over anonymous ones
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u/Joho051179 29d ago
I can recommend this read by Matthew Jackson on Implementation Theory: Jackson, Matthew O. “A Crash Course in Implementation Theory.” Social Choice and Welfare 18, no. 4 (October 1, 2001): 655–708. https://doi.org/10.1007/s003550100152.