Economics Classroom Experiments/Introductory Strategy
Experiments for an Introductory Course in Strategy
[edit | edit source]This is a sequence of nine classroom experiments suitable for a semester-long (14 weeks) introductory course in "strategy," defined here as "principles of game theory." This sequence was developed for a course "Economics of Decision-Making and Strategy" in the Department of Economics at Texas A&M University. The focus of the course is on applications of principles of game theory to real-world examples; the experiments are each designed to illustrate one of the key principles.
The course is a "writing-intensive" course. Most of the experiments have an associated list of questions for students to ask themselves as they participate in the experiment. In the course, students write brief essays of 350-400 words around one of these questions, or a related topic of their own choosing. Alternately, these questions can be used to initiate class discussion at the conclusion of the experiment, or at the next class meeting.
- Sequential search Cost-benefit tradeoffs; expected value calculations.
- Information cascades Bayes Rule and probabilistic reasoning; thinking about other players' actions
- Prisoner's dilemma Dominant strategies; the prisoner's dilemma; one-shot versus repeated interaction
- Equilibrium and focal points Equilibrium in pure coordination games; focal points
- Coordination Tensions between cooperation and conflict; the stag hunt (assurance) game and lock-in; the battle of the sexes
- Commitment Sequential-move versus simultaneous-move games; the value of commitment
- Stripped-down poker A minimalistic poker game; randomization as optimal strategy; rational justification for bluffing; Bayes' Rule
- Signaling Asymmetric information; separating and pooling equilibria
- Agendas Strategic voting; Condorcet's paradox
Topics in Economic Classroom Experiments | |
Auctions |
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Markets |
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Public Economics |
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Industrial Organization |
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Macroeconomics and Finance |
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Game Theory |
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Individual Decisions |
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