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This book is about noncooperative game theory and asymmetric information. In the Introduction,
I will say why I think these subjects are important, but here in the Preface I
will try to help you decide whether this is the appropriate book to read if they do interest
you.
I write as an applied theoretical economist, not as a game theorist, and readers in
anthropology, law, physics, accounting, and management science have helped me to be
aware of the provincialisms of economics and game theory. My aim is to present the game
theory and information economics that currently exist in journal articles and oral tradition
in a way that shows how to build simple models using a standard format. Journal articles
are more complicated and less clear than seems necessary in retrospect; precisely because
it is original, even the discoverer rarely understands a truly novel idea. After a few dozen
successor articles have appeared, we all understand it and marvel at its simplicity. But
journal editors are unreceptive to new articles that admit to containing exactly the same
idea as old articles, just presented more clearly. At best, the clarification is hidden in
some new article’s introduction or condensed to a paragraph in a survey. Students, who
find every idea as complex as the originators of the ideas did when they were new, must
learn either from the confused original articles or the oral tradition of a top economics
department. This book tries to help.
Written in a crisp and approachable style, Games and Information uses simple modeling techniques and straightforward explanations to provide students with an understanding of game theory and information economics.
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Written for introductory courses seeking a little rigor.
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The 4th edition brings the material fully up-to-date and includes new end-of-chapter problems and classroom projects, as well as a math appendix.
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Accompanied by a comprehensive website featuring solutions to problems and teaching notes.
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