Political Economy, Oligopoly And Experimental Games

‘Martin Shubik has been one of the great pioneers in the application of game theory to economic problems. His work sheds considerable light on fundamental institutions such as the price system and money.’
– Eric Maskin, Harvard University, US

‘The two volumes of the Selected Essays of Professor Shubik present a recognizably most valuable collection. The earlier publication of Shubik’s book Game Theory in the Social Sciences was very much appreciated and won the Lanchester Prize of the Operations Research Society of America. This illustrates how the work of Martin Shubik connects ideas, precision, and methods of mathematics with a real understanding of what are the relevant issues which make an otherwise generic scientific question indeed a question of economic interest and significance (and the same can be said a little more broadly with "the social sciences" replacing economics). The volumes are of interest because the papers that are included are well-chosen and in particular include interesting collaborations of Shubik with co-authors such as Dubey and Shapley.’
– John Nash, Princeton University, US

‘Game theory is now a mainstay of a wide range of disciplines within economics and elsewhere. The credit for recognizing its potentiality belongs to a small group of dedicated researchers, of whom one of the liveliest and most influential is Martin Shubik. These essays are a testament to his remarkable
insight.’
– Ken Binmore, University College London, UK

This book presents the most important published articles of Martin Shubik who has made a path-breaking contribution to game theory and political economy. The volume shows how game theory can be used to explore fundamental problems in economics, political science and operations research.

The book opens with an introduction to the career of Martin Shubik and the influences which have shaped his research. In this, and the chapters which follow, Martin Shubik stresses the importance of formulative models as playable games and the treatment of information to describe decision making among individuals, using examples from industrial organization. He demonstrates that games are a fruitful way to extend our knowledge of competition among the few. In addition, he considers the importance of gaming in economics and business suggesting that experimental games can be used to illustrate problems and principles in multi-person decision making.

This book will be welcomed by economists, game theorists, political scientists, and operations researchers.