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An Introduction to Game Theory (Osborne, 2004)
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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.

p.1 Game theory aims to help us understand situations in which decision-makers interact.
 
p.1 Like other sciences, game theory consists of a collection of models. A model is an abstraction we use to understand our observations and experiences.
 
p.1 a model derives power from its simplicity; the assumptions upon which it rests should capture the essence of the situation, not irrelevant details.
 
p.2 Models cannot be judged by an absolute criterion: they are neither "right" nor "wrong". Whether a model is useful or not depends, in part, on the purpose for which it is used.

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