Game Changer - the game theory podcast

In this episode, we discuss with Achim how addressing climate change and economics, especially market design, are linked. Achim shares which economic incentives we should utilize to ensure we can meet our climate goal. Our discussion is based on Achim's very recent new book publication "Klima muss sich lohnen" (https://www.zew.de/klimapolitik). Achim Wambach is the president of the ZEW, the Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research, and professor of economics at the University of Mannheim. He was a member of the German Monopolies Commission from 2014 to June 2022 and served as its chairman from 2016 to September 2020. Achim also is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.

In this episode, Bruce shows us how Game Theory can be successfully applied in the field of political science. In particular, we discuss the explanatory and predictive power of the Selectorate Theory, which analyses political systems regarding their properties as democracy or autocracy. Bruce explains the underlying game theoretic model of this theory, how he obtains the data, and which conclusions he can draw from the results, including predictions on coups or revolutions. Bruce Bueno de Mesquita is the Julius Silver professor at New York University and emeritus senior fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution. He is a political scientist, specializing in policy forecasting, political economy, and international security policy. He is also the author of many books, like "The predictioneer's game" and "The dictator's handbook", among others. You can read more on the Selectorate Theory here, here and here, and develop your own predictions using the online version of the Predictioneer's Game software.

In this episode Christoph Kuzmics explains the game theoretic concept of Common Knowledge, using fun anecdotes from his personal life. We also learn that Common Knowledge is much more than just passing information to all parties, and that in some situations, it is desirable not to establish full information. Christoph Kuzmics is professor of microeconomics at the university of Graz, Austria. His research focusses on the development of the theory of strategic interaction and its application to the social sciences. He also runs the Game Theory blog gametheory.life, where he shares fun anecdotes and examples of game theory from everyday life. This podcast episode is based on his blog articles "The dinner gong" and "non-secret-voting".

This is a short announcement of Game Changer Podcast going on summer break and returning on September 13th. Enjoy your summer and until September – the TWS Game changer team!

This episode is all about cooperation and altruism. Erez Yoeli explains how these concepts can be modelled using game theory, and which measures can be taken to increase altruism in different situations. He also shares the success story of the company Keheala, which uses game theoretic insights to foster altruistic behaviour in the healthcare context. Erez Yoeli is a research scientist at MIT's Sloan School of Management where he directs the Applied Cooperation Team. He is also co-author of the book "Hidden Games: The Surprising Power of Game Theory to Explain Irrational Human Behavior". His research interests are in the areas of altruism, game theory and cooperation.

In this episode Alexander Teytelboym walks us through the intricacies of uniform-price auctions. While often praised for their theoretical properties, putting them into practice successfully can turn out to be quite the challenge. Alex shares with us what can be learned about auction design from observing uniform-price auctions in the fishing industry and how game theory can explain fishermen's bids that resemble "crank handles". This research by Alex is based on joint work with Sanna Laksa and Daniel Marszalec. Alex Teytelboym is associate professor at the Department of Economics at the University of Oxford. His research interests are in the areas of market design and the economics of networks including their applications to environmental economics and energy markets, among others.

Think like a Virus! Viewing the Pandemic through the Lens of Game Theory | with Joshua Gans In this episode Joshua Gans shares his insights on the ongoing pandemic from a game theoretic perspective. He explains how he first got into the topic, why being deadly is generally not the best strategy for any virus, and how hidden information can help a virus thrive. Joshua then walks us through ways to counter a virus and how to prepare for the future. Joshua Gans is professor of Strategic Management and holder of the Jeffrey S. Skoll Chair of Technical Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Rotman School of Management of the University of Toronto. His research interests are in the areas of technological competition and innovation, industrial organization and regulatory economics, among others. He is also author of several books such as "The pandemic information solution".

In this episode, Jason Thompson explains how Game Theory can help understand interactions on the roads and in traffic. We discuss agent-based-modelling and its application to analysing the behaviour of road users in traffic intersection. Jason gives examples on 'different games' at traffic intersections and compares the game induced by traffic regulations with the one originating from varying powers of the road users (e.g. truck vs cyclist). We also discuss how such interactions will change with the introduction and increase of autonomously driving vehicles. Jason Thompson is associate professor at University of Melbourne School of Design and School of Medicine. His interest, among other, is focused on the translation of research into practice across the areas of transportation, heavy-vehicle safety, and health system design.

Digital Players & Future Markets – Game Theory in Machine Learning & Common Ownership topics | with Martin Schmalz In this episode, Martin Schmalz explains what machine learning has to do with economics and game theory and its relationship to common ownership. He gives some practical examples for game theoretic situations in which machine learning is already used, and shows where potential benefits and risk for consumers might lie. In addition, we discuss the topic of common ownership – another one of Martins' fields of research, i.e. situations in which individuals or groups simultaneously hold shares of competing companies in a market sector. According to Martin, this phenomenon occurs much more often than you might think. He explains its effect on competition and we discuss its potential for collusive market behaviour. Martin Schmalz is professor of Finance and Economics at the University of Oxford Saïd Business School and co-author of the book 'The Business of Big Data'. His research interests, among others, are in the areas of financial economics, artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Playing nice – Trust and reputation in Game Theory, eCommerce and vaccinations | with Steve Tadelis In this episode we talk to Steve Tadelis about reputation and trust. He explains how he first got into the topic, what reputation means in the context of Game Theory and how even leaving no review at all could signal reputation on platforms like ebay. He also shows how powerful reputation and trust can be beyond the business context, e.g. when increasing vaccination rates with the help of Donald Trump. Steve Tadelis is professor of economics, business and public policy at UC Berkeley. His research interests include the economics of eCommerce and incentives & organisations. On top of his academic experience he has worked as senior economist at Amazon and eBay. In the episode, Steve mentions the following papers: Rational cooperation in the finitely repeated prisoners' dilemma, by David Kreps, Paul Milgrom, John Roberts and Robert Wilson Using Donald Trump's COVID-19 Vaccine Endorsement to Give Public Health a Shot in the Arm: A Large-Scale Ad Experiment, by Bradley Larsen, Marc J. Hetherington, Steven H. Greene, Timothy J. Ryan, Rahsaan D. Maxwell & Steven Tadelis