Natural Justice

This book lays out foundations for a "science of morals." Binmore uses game theory as a systematic tool for investigating ethical matters. He reinterprets classical social contract ideas within a game-theory framework and generates new insights into the fundamental questions of social philosophy. In contrast to the previous writing in moral philosophy that relied on vague notion such as " societal well-being" and "moral duty," Binmore begins with individuals; rational decision-makers with the ability to empathize with one another. Any social arrangement that prescribes them to act against their interests will become unstable and eventually will be replaced by another, until one is found that includes worthwhile actions for all individuals involved.

Business & Money

Binmore, Ken

Economics

Oxford University Press

Ken Binmore's previous game theory textbook, Fun and Games (D.C. Heath, 1991), carved out a significant niche in the advanced undergraduate market; it was intellectually serious and more up-to-date than its competitors, but also accessibly written. Its central thesis was that game theory allows us to understand many kinds of interactions between people, a point that Binmore amply demonstrated through a rich range of examples and applications. This replacement for the now out-of-date 1991 textbook retains the entertaining examples, but changes the organization to match how game theory courses are actually taught, making Playing for Real a more versatile text that almost all possible course designs will find easier to use, with less jumping about than before. In addition, the problem sections, already used as a reference by many teachers, have become even more clever and varied, without becoming too technical. Playing for Real will sell into advanced undergraduate courses in game theory, primarily those in economics, but also courses in the social sciences, and serve as a reference for economists.

Playing for Real: A Text on Game Theory

Games are everywhere: Drivers maneuvering in heavy traffic are playing a driving game. Bargain hunters bidding on eBay are playing an auctioning game. The supermarket's price for corn flakes is decided by playing an economic game. This Very Short Introduction offers a succinct tour of the fascinating world of game theory, a ground-breaking field that analyzes how to play games in a rational way. Ken Binmore, a renowned game theorist, explains the theory in a way that is both entertaining and non-mathematical yet also deeply insightful, revealing how game theory can shed light on everything from social gatherings, to ethical decision-making, to successful card-playing strategies, to calculating the sex ratio among bees. With mini-biographies of many fascinating, and occasionally eccentric, founders of the subject--including John Nash, subject of the movie A Beautiful Mind--this book offers a concise overview of a cutting-edge field that has seen spectacular successes in evolutionary biology and economics, and is beginning to revolutionize other disciplines from psychology to political science. About the Series: Oxford's Very Short Introductions offers concise and original introductions to a wide range of subjects--from Islam to Sociology, Politics to Classics, and Literary Theory to History. Not simply a textbook of definitions, each volume provides trenchant and provocative--yet always balanced and complete--discussions of the central issues in a given topic. Every Very Short Introduction gives a readable evolution of the subject in question, demonstrating how it has developed and influenced society. Whatever the area of study, whatever the topic that fascinates the reader, the series has a handy and affordable guide that will likely prove indispensable.

Game Theory: A Very Short Introduction

Playing for Real is a problem-based textbook on game theory that has been widely used at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. This Coursepack Edition will be particularly useful for teachers new to the subject. It contains only the material necessary for a course of ten, two-hour lectures plus problem classes and comes with a disk of teaching aids including pdf files of the author's own lecture presentations together with two series of weekly exercise sets with answers and two sample final exams with answers. There are at least three questions a game theory book might answer: What is game theory about? How is game theory applied? Why is game theory right? Playing for Real is perhaps the only book that attempts to answer all three questions without getting heavily mathematical. Its many problems and examples are an integral part of its approach. Just as athletes take pleasure in training their bodies, there is much satisfaction to be found in training one's mind to think in a way that is simultaneously rational and creative. With all of its puzzles and paradoxes, game theory provides a magnificent mental gymnasium for this purpose. It is the author's hope that exercising on the equipment provided by this Coursepack Edition will bring the reader the same kind of pleasure that it has brought to so many other students.

Playing for Real, Coursepack Edition: A Text on Game Theory

A collection of Ken Binmore's influential papers on bargaining experiments, with the author's newly written commentary addressing the challenges to game theory posed by the behavioral school of economics.
This volume brings together all of Ken Binmore's influential experimental papers on bargaining along with newly written commentary in which Binmore discusses the underlying game theory and addresses the criticism leveled at it by behavioral economists.
When Binmore began his experimental work in the 1980s, conventional wisdom held that game theory would not work in the laboratory, but Binmore and other pioneers established that game theory can often predict the behavior of experienced players very well in favorable laboratory settings. The case of human bargaining behavior is particularly challenging for game theory. Everyone agrees that human behavior in real-life bargaining situations is governed at least partly by considerations of fairness, but what happens in a laboratory when such fairness considerations supposedly conflict with game-theoretic predictions? Behavioral economists, who emphasize the importance of other-regarding or social preferences, sometimes argue that their findings threaten traditional game theory. Binmore disputes both their interpretations of their findings and their claims about what game theorists think it reasonable to predict.
Binmore's findings from two decades of game theory experiments have made a lasting contribution to economics. These papers―some co-authored with other leading economists, including Larry Samuelson, Avner Shaked, and John Sutton―show that game theory does indeed work in favorable laboratory environments, even in the challenging case of bargaining. 
Does Game Theory Work? The Bargaining Challenge, Volume 2

Does Game Theory Work?: The Bargaining Challenge (Economic Learning And Social Evolution)

Mit Pr

This second edition of a text for a course on calculus of functions of several variables begins with basics of matrices and vectors and a chapter recalling the important points of the theory in one dimension. It then introduces partial derivatives via functions of two variables and then extends the discussion to more than two variables. This pattern is repeated throughout the book, with two variables being used as a springboard for the more general case. The book distinguishes itself from the competition with its introduction of elementary difference equations, including the use of the difference operator, as well as differential equations and complex numbers. It overcomes the difficulty of visualizing curves and surfaces from equations with the use of many computer graphics in full color, and it contains more than 250 exercises. With applications to economics and an emphasis on practical problem-solving in the sciences rather than the proof of formal theorems, this text should provide excellent motivation to students.

Calculus: Concepts and Methods

Science & Math

Davies, Joan

Mathematics

Cambridge University Press

The Economics of bargaining

The Economics of Bargaining

Blackwell Pub.

Fun and Games: A Text on Game Theory

Binmore's groundbreaking text on game theory explores the manner in which rational people should interact when they have conflicting interests. While Binmore uses a light touch to outline key developments in theory, the text remains a serious exposition of a serious topic. In addition, his unique story-telling approach allows students to immediately apply game-theoretic skills to simple problems. Each chapter ends with a host of challenging exercises to help students practice the skills they have learned. The highly anticipated revision, expected in 2003, will include more coverage of cooperative game theory and a more accessible presentation—with chapters broken up into smaller chunks and an abundance of economic examples integrated throughout the text.

D.C. Heath & Co.

It is widely held that Bayesian decision theory is the final word on how a rational person should make decisions. However, Leonard Savage--the inventor of Bayesian decision theory--argued that it would be ridiculous to use his theory outside the kind of small world in which it is always possible to "look before you leap." If taken seriously, this view makes Bayesian decision theory inappropriate for the large worlds of scientific discovery and macroeconomic enterprise. When is it correct to use Bayesian decision theory--and when does it need to be modified? Using a minimum of mathematics, Rational Decisions clearly explains the foundations of Bayesian decision theory and shows why Savage restricted the theory's application to small worlds.
 The book is a wide-ranging exploration of standard theories of choice and belief under risk and uncertainty. Ken Binmore discusses the various philosophical attitudes related to the nature of probability and offers resolutions to paradoxes believed to hinder further progress. In arguing that the Bayesian approach to knowledge is inadequate in a large world, Binmore proposes an extension to Bayesian decision theory--allowing the idea of a mixed strategy in game theory to be expanded to a larger set of what Binmore refers to as "muddled" strategies.
 Written by one of the world's leading game theorists, Rational Decisions is the touchstone for anyone needing a concise, accessible, and expert view on Bayesian decision making.

Rational Decisions (The Gorman Lectures in Economics)

Princeton University Press

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Binmore, Ken. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Binmore, Ken

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Binmore, Ken. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Natural Justice

Playing for Real: A Text on Game Theory

Game Theory: A Very Short Introduction

Natural Justice

Playing for Real, Coursepack Edition: A Text on Game Theory

Does Game Theory Work?: The Bargaining Challenge (Economic Learning And Social Evolution)

Calculus: Concepts and Methods

The Economics of Bargaining

Fun and Games: A Text on Game Theory

Rational Decisions (The Gorman Lectures in Economics)