Game Theory & Political Science

This course provides an overview of game theory and its applications to political science. We start from the ground floor, assuming no prior exposure to game theory or mathematics beyond high school algebra. Students are introduced to game theoretic concepts such as Nash equilibrium, subgame perfection, and signaling. These concepts can be applied to examine a variety of political phenomena, including candidate competition, fundraising, political posturing, and executive-legislative bargaining. While most of the applications of game theory that we explore will be political in nature, some of our applications will be drawn from the world of economics and every-day life. This course has three objectives: 1) The first objective is to introduce you to some of the more popular methods of solving games employed by game theorists; 2) The second objective is to provide the necessary background for you to both appreciate and critically analyze political science scholarship employing game theoretic models; 3) The third objective is to provide a lens through which to analyze current events and proposed reforms to the political system (e.g., campaign finance reform or the abolition of the filibuster).

Teaching Evaluations

Overall assessment 5/5. See full text of student evaluations (TA evaluations start pg. 14)

Course Details

Department(s): Political Science, Ethics Politics & Economics
Course Number: PLSC 344/EP&E 295
Role: Graduate Teaching Fellow
Level: Undergraduate
Primary Instructor: Professor Ian Turner
Responsibilities Teach sections (2 per week) and host office hours, grade all assignments and exams, answer student questions.

Syllabus

Available upon request.