July 9 Game Theory

We'll be finishing up the asynchronous material for the Game Theory session over the next few days, but we wanted to get as much material online as quickly as possible.

To start, please complete this Qualtrics survey. The purpose is to have you analyze these games prior to doing any of the other pre-work. As will become clear in the asynchronous videos, there is no objectively correct answer to any of the questions.

https://georgetown.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bNSdL4qfVzz4646

Then, read this introduction to game theory. It will be helpful for building some of the vocabulary we will be using during the asynchronous and synchronous sessions. 

• Dixit, A., S. Skeath and D. McAdams, “How to Think about Strategic Games” (excerpt) in Games of Strategy, 5th edition, 2021, pp. 18-36. (Link) (a review for those not very familiar with game theory models).

Next, watch the asynchronous videos. Start with Scott's and then proceed to Dong Nghi's.

Synchronous session info:
Date: July 9, 2025
Start Time: 14:00 UTC (10:00 EST / 16:00 CET)
End Time: 15:20 UTC
Link: https://georgetown.zoom.us/j/99313919043?pwd=huivLfbwQDaS6ooRlhbTTm28bqQn9M.1
Meeting ID: 993 1391 9043
Passcode: 957 810

Dong Nghi's slides + the hands-on exercises

Slides (repeated games, grim trigger, folk theorem, leading to Axelrod’s tournament): https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/8s1wpn0qy3wqyg4v3c890/TOM_GameTheory_July9_Slides_DNP.pdf?rlkey=naok3rksp69wpvwxovlzxze0y&st=1uwbtyf8&dl=0

Hands-on code notebook (strategies in repeated PD, ecological model in Axelrod):

• Direct link on Colab: https://colab.research.google.com/drive/1zZgpRLALwH8HgFeVtwXcNKdxHNQ80yae?usp=sharing

• Download link from Dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/zrtu0xuj5hjtrnu2wzsfh/Axelrod_Tournament_Simplified_Code.ipynb?rlkey=gl3j5132a7i8fpopvmg1kw3hp&st=udfcy4nk&dl=0

Please also read the following two papers:

• Ganz (2023) "Conflict, Chaos, and the Art of Institutional Design." Organization Science. https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/abs/10.1287/orsc.2023.1662

• Levinthal and Pham (2024) "Bringing Politics Back In: The Role of Power and Coalitions in Organizational Adaptation." Organization Science. https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/full/10.1287/orsc.2022.16995

Ask yourself how game theoretic ideas are being applied in each ... and also where the authors are choosing to deviate from classic game theoretic concepts!

We look forward to seeing everyone in our synchronous session and then in Odense!

--Dong Nghi and Scott