An Introduction to Game Theory

by Martin J. Osborne

Game theoretic reasoning pervades economic theory and is used widely in other social and behavioral sciences. An Introduction to Game Theory , by Martin J. Osborne, presents the main principles of game theory and shows how they can be used to understand economic, social, political, and biological phenomena. The book introduces in an accessible manner the main ideas behind the theory rather than their mathematical expression. All concepts are defined precisely, and logical reasoning is used throughout. The book requires an understanding of basic mathematics but assumes no specific knowledge of economics, political science, or other social or behavioral sciences.
Coverage includes the fundamental concepts of strategic games, extensive games with perfect information, and coalitional games; the more advanced subjects of Bayesian games and extensive games with imperfect information; and the topics of repeated games, bargaining theory, evolutionary equilibrium, rationalizability, and maxminimization. The book offers a wide variety of illustrations from the social and behavioral sciences and more than 280 exercises. Each topic features examples that highlight theoretical points and illustrations that demonstrate how the theory may be used. Explaining the key concepts of game theory as simply as possible while maintaining complete precision, An Introduction to Game Theory is ideal for undergraduate and introductory graduate courses in game theory.

Genres: Economics, Nonfiction, Mathematics, Science, Textbooks, Academic, Reference

560 pages, Hardcover

First published August 7, 2003

About the author

Martin J. Osborne is a Professor of Economics at the University of Toronto.
http://www.economics.utoronto.ca/osbo...

Reviews

[Arthursaurus_lentils · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haters will say I didn't read the whole book

[Paola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, rigorous, advanced undergraduate textbook which will be extremely valuable for beginning graduate students, too (so do bear in mind that its intended audience is final year students in economics and social sciences, so don't expect to be entertained by colorful pictures an inset boxes and lots of funny facts). Osborne takes a lot of care in going over each and every detail of examples and proof very carefully, so it is ideal for self study.

[Rich · Rating 2 out of 5]

My professor called this book a "reverse pedagogy" book. Which is understood as: a book that will not exactly demonstrate to you how to accomplish everything it asks you to do in the exercises. So, to me, that means its not exactly a useful introduction to the topic--although I do appreciate the depth in how it examined the topic compared to another stalwart text like Morrow's "Game Theory for Political Science," and for what it is worth, it was more accessible than Ordeshook's "Game Theory and Political Theory" in my opinion.

[szymborskalyte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Above my head on many an occasion but this must be as good an introduction to game theory that I’ve seen. Mathematically rigorous but not entirely intimidating.

[Scalar42 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ingredients: Exercises for bored puzzle lovers (39%). Non-necessary examples (30%). Core game theory ideas (20%). Loose definitions (10%). Others*(1%).
*: Including notes, preface, serious math and references.

[Dylan Groves · Rating 3 out of 5]

doesnt seem to be trying very hard

[Francisco Villaseñor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid game theory text book, but may fall short for somebody with experience in the subject

[Assaad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting, the book contains the basics of Game theory with a wide range of examples covering all domains: economics, psychology, politics, decision making, negotiation, logic, philosophy, etc...
The mathematics behind are not complicated and it's easy to follow the demonstrations behind.
Very recommended to start in the field.

[Alex Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introduction to Game theory overall, the author presents quite a few examples, and in a very "structuralist" way (e.g., Here's the players, the rules, the preferences, now lets investigate interesting questions...).

It'd be good if there were a few more examples "translating" prose into a game, but overall a very intuitive approach.

[Usfromdk · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book had too little math compared to what was needed to pass the course in question, so we had to rely on lecture notes to make up for that.

But if what you're after is a not-too-technical introduction to the field, I guess you could do a lot worse.

[Tista Kundu]

highly comprehensive

[Jas]

Classic introductory textbook

[K1]

Enjoyable indeed. Written in a simple and reader-friendly way.