Handbook of Game Theory with Economic Applications


Book Description

This is the second of three volumes surveying the state of the art in Game Theory and its applications to many and varied fields, in particular to economics. The chapters in the present volume are contributed by outstanding authorities, and provide comprehensive coverage and precise statements of the main results in each area. The applications include empirical evidence. The following topics are covered: communication and correlated equilibria, coalitional games and coalition structures, utility and subjective probability, common knowledge, bargaining, zero-sum games, differential games, and applications of game theory to signalling, moral hazard, search, evolutionary biology, international relations, voting procedures, social choice, public economics, politics, and cost allocation. This handbook will be of interest to scholars in economics, political science, psychology, mathematics and biology. For more information on the Handbooks in Economics series, please see our home page on http://www.elsevier.nl/locate/hes




TRANSATLANTIC POLICY QUARTERLY - VOL. 21 - NO. 2 - SUMMER 2022


Book Description

In response to the shifting landscape of international politics, the most current TPQ issue focuses on "NATO's Changing Priorities." We present thirteen insightful essays for our Summer 2022 edition from prominent figures in academia, journalism, and nongovernmental organizations. Ten of these articles address the changing priorities of NATO in more general terms, while three others take this phenomenon in light of the effects of the most recent Russian invasion of Ukraine. Several significant new difficulties for the global order emerged in the wake of the Russian invasion. NATO has proposed a new Strategic Concept, which was emphasized at its most recent Summit in Madrid, in response to these fresh concerns. TPQ explores not just the potential of this recent, significant document but also examines the more considerable consequences of it on the global stage. Transatlantic Policy Quarterly's publication interests have always been significantly inspired by the Alliance's agenda. We hope that by concentrating on NATO's Changing Priorities in our Summer 2022 issue, we will be able to better inform our readers about the shifting framework of international relations. Carmen Romero provides an exciting overview of the recent Strategic Concept outlined by NATO in its Madrid Summit. She correctly draws attention to the novelty of this novel idea in light of the circumstances surrounding its revelation. Additionally, she thinks that the important choices made at the Summit will guarantee that NATO keeps adapting and protecting its members in an increasingly dangerous and competitive world. An overview of these choices is given in this article within the framework of the Alliance's increasingly erratic security environment. E. Fuat Keyman highlights that the NATO summit in Madrid was significant and essential, but it wasn't enough. To support his claim, he thoroughly examines NATO's new strategic concept, its crucial significance, its transformational impact, and the six obstacles it confronts. As NATO today finds itself in a period of strategic rivalry, in his opinion, the organization's most recent Strategic Concept reflects a very different threat environment. It acknowledges for the first time that the Euro-Atlantic region is "not at peace," but instead that strategic rivalry and general instability threaten regional security. Ahmet O. Evin offers a careful method that considers contextual circumstances. According to him, NATO now looks to be taking on the role of a champion for both the liberal order and the shared principles of the transatlantic Alliance. Moreover, he also focuses on the longer-term effects of the shifting dynamics in international events on ordinary individuals by saying that unhappiness brought on by the stagnant economy, the growing cost of living, and perhaps energy shortages may be expected to expand the ranks of those opposed to the war and its effects on the quality of life in Europe. We encourage you to find out more about the elements that make up NATO's Changing Priorities.




A Game-Theoretic Perspective on Coalition Formation


Book Description

Drawing upon and extending his inaugural Lipsey Lectures, Debraj Ray looks at coalition formation from the perspective of game theory. Ray brings together developments in both cooperative and noncooperative game theory to study the analytics of coalition formation and binding agreements.










Coalition Defection


Book Description

Since the creation of Israel, during both wartime and peacetime, many Arab coalitions have formed. Every one of these anti-Israel coalitions has failed to achieve its goals due to the defection of one or more major parties. Kober explores the forces behind the dissemination of these alliances to determine why Arab states chose defection; whether or not a distinction can be made between defection patterns in times of war and patterns related to peace processes; and possible explanations for different behavior patterns. The multi-polar structure of the Arab subsystem, the decisions of pivotal members, and the negative reputations earned by such coalitions have always made defection an easy alternative. The choice to defect was, Kober contends, nurtured by a sense of military weakness and by the priority that coalition members attached to their particular interests over general Arab concerns. Kober finds that defection in time of war has arisen mainly through evasion-passive avoidance of coalition obligations with the hope of escaping or minimizing expected losses. Defection from military coalitions often deprived the defector of maximizing gains, all the while weakening the remaining coalition members. However, defection during the peace process served not only to optimize the defector's utilities, but eventually proved beneficial for the parties left behind. Kober determines that the peace process, mainly due to superpower involvement, transformed the scenario from a zero-sum to a non-zero-sum game, by rewarding the parties for signing treaties with Israel. Also, the first defectors, such as Egypt, established pay-off precedents, creating the foundation for future negotiations between the Arab players and Israel.




Alliances and Co-Evolution


Book Description

Alliances and Co-Evolution provides alliance managers, consultants and academics with a detailed analysis covering 23 years of the growth and decline of three lifecycles of alliances. This analysis links structural change in the European macro-environment with corporate alliance strategies. It differentiates between strategic alliances and infrastructure alliances with their differing strategic drivers, and proposes a Co-Evolution model to explain, monitor and manage the development of alliances over time.




Perspectives on Positive Political Economy


Book Description

This volume serves as an introduction to the field of positive political economy and the economic and political processes with which it is concerned. This new research tradition is distinct from both normative and historical approaches to political economy. Grounded in the rational-actor methodology of microeconomics, positive political economy is the study of rational decisions in a context of political and economic institutions. More analytical than traditional approaches, it is concerned with the derivation of principles and propositions against which real-world experience may be compared. Its focus is on empirical regularities, and its goal is theoretical explanation. The field has focused on three main areas of research: models of collective action, constraints on competitive market processes, and the analysis of transaction costs. Developments in all of these areas are covered in the book. The first part of the volume surveys the field, while the second part displays positive political economy at work, examining a variety of subjects. The final part contains essays by leading political economists on the theoretical foundations of the field.







Alliance Formation in Civil Wars


Book Description

Some of the most brutal and long-lasting civil wars of our time involve the rapid formation and disintegration of alliances among warring groups, as well as fractionalization within them. It would be natural to suppose that warring groups form alliances based on shared identity considerations - such as Christian groups allying with Christian groups - but this is not what we see. Two groups that identify themselves as bitter foes one day, on the basis of some identity narrative, might be allies the next day and vice versa. Nor is any group, however homogeneous, safe from internal fractionalization. Rather, looking closely at the civil wars in Afghanistan and Bosnia and testing against the broader universe of fifty-three cases of multiparty civil wars, Fotini Christia finds that the relative power distribution between and within various warring groups is the primary driving force behind alliance formation, alliance changes, group splits and internal group takeovers.