Game Changer - the game theory podcast

In this episode we are talking to Eva Donnerhack, Director, Specialist for Modern and Impressionist Art and Head of Sales Germany at Sotheby's. Together we take a look behind the curtain of preparing an auction in the world of art, discuss the importance of timing, stories and cultural differences and learn what art auctions and concerts have in common.   Eva Donnerhack is Director, Specialist for Modern and Impressionist Art and Head of Sales Germany at the auction house Sotheby's. As such she contributes to many of Sotheby's most promising auctions in London, Paris and New York and is well seasoned when it comes to all things auctions in the world of art.

Scott Page, Complexity, Social Science and Management professor at the University of Michigan, discusses the value of models and their uses in different disciplines. They explore the complexity of models, the importance of using multiple models to understand complex issues, and the role of models in decision-making. They also discuss problem-solving through game theory principles.

Oliver Viehmann, Principal at TWS Partners, discusses game theory in the pharmaceutical industry. They explore drug pricing mechanisms, including regulatory cost-effectiveness and competitive procurement. The complexities and challenges of volume-based procurement in China are examined, highlighting the game theoretic dynamics between payers and manufacturers. Explore different pricing approaches, including outcome-based pricing.

In this episode, Philipp Heller, an expert on mergers, antitrust, and competition, discusses how game theory can be used to predict the effects of market consolidations. They explore examples like the intended merger of Vonovia and Deutsche Wohnen and explain game theory concepts useful for antitrust authorities. The podcast also delves into different types of mergers, the impact on competition and consumer welfare, and the role of game theory in antitrust decision-making.

Julien Combe, Professor of Economics, talks about challenges and regulations in finding matching mechanisms for kidney exchanges. Topics include limited supply of deceased donors, advantages of receiving a kidney from a living donor, tissue compatibility in transplantation, and the use of altruistic donors to improve kidney exchange programs.

In this episode Marc Robinson, strategy and risk management expert, takes us back to when he first applied game theory to real-life business problems at General Motors. He shares his insights on how to identify problems well suited for game theoretic tools as well as benefits and common misconceptions when applying them to negotiations of all kinds.   Marc Robinson now works as an independent strategy and risk management consultant, following a career as an internal consultant and economist at General Motors. It was there that he first introduced game theoretic concepts and tools, applying them to a vast range of applications such as strategic product or investment decisions, or negotiations with partners, suppliers, and unions. He also taught at UCLA and Stanford and worked on the Council of Economic Advisers under President George H.W. Bush.

Guest Marion Ott, renewable energy project subsidy allocation expert, discusses the allocation of subsidies for renewable energy projects in the EU. The podcast explores the concept of endogenous rationing and its unintended effects on competition in subsidies tenders. It also examines the impact of participation costs on bidder behavior and the negative consequences of implementing endogenous rationing. Alternative approaches to improve market design and increase competition are also discussed.

In April this year some of the best European football clubs announced their plans to create a "Super League". Plans which were crushed unanimously by both players and fans alike only a couple of days later. In this episode we talk to Jan Eeckhout, Professor of Economics, about the Super League from an Economics perspective. We discuss which economic considerations may have influenced the idea to create a Super League, how the League could have impacted market power, and how these effects translate more generally to labour markets with dominant players like Amazon. Jan Eeckhout is Professor of Economics at UPF Barcelona with a research focus on labour markets and author of the book "The Profit Paradox. How Thriving Firms Threaten the Future of Work" (theprofitparadox.com).

From the prisoners’ dilemma to the Chicken Game: we all know the entertaining and powerful stories from game theory that help us to quickly identify the strategic core of a given situation. Today’s guest David McAdams explains to us that - while these simplified stories are very useful – they might lead to wrong predictions and recommendations when used in the wrong context. David also gives some practical examples from his work as a professor and consultant (e.g. on vaccine distribution in the current pandemic, and the fight against antibiotic resistance of so-called super-bugs), and we see that choosing the right underlying story and collecting the correct initial data are crucial prerequisites to the success of a game theoretic analysis.   David McAdams is Professor of Economics and Professor of Business Administration at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, and author of the book “Game-Changer: Game Theory and the Art of Transforming Strategic Situations”. David mentions several interesting research topics in the outlook of the interview. Here are the links to the corresponding papers (some behind a paywall): Learning through the grapevine: The Impact of Message Mutation, Transmission Failure, and Deliberate Bias: https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3391403.3399521 Social Networks and the Market for News: https://sites.duke.edu/rachelkranton/files/2020/04/Social-Networks-and-the-Market-for-News-Kranton-McAdams-April-2020.pdf Viral Social Learning: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3299129 In addition, you can learn more about David’s current research activities on his homepage.

Professor of economics and market design, Vitali Gretschko, explores the connection between markets and morals. Topics include the relevancy of social norms in market interactions, designing markets to increase moral behavior, the moral dilemma of trading vaccinations, the relationship between market prices and morality, and the role of markets in fostering moral behavior.