In many - perhaps most - economic interactions, there is potential for strategic behaviour, a term, “intended to focus on the interdependence of the adversaries' decisions and on their expectations about each other's behaviour” (Schelling, 1960, The Strategy of Conflict). Recognising and understanding such behaviour is an essential part of any economist's toolkit and this course is designed to enable just such recognition and understanding. Game theory has successfully been applied in a diverse range of fields, such as economics, political science, law, biology and computer science. The aim of this course is to provide an introduction to strategic thinking and analysis through the basic techniques of game theory and to illustrate the range of its applications in economics and business and other areas. While the level of the course will be introductory, and mathematical prerequisites are minimal, the presentation of the material will rely on precise logical arguments.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- recognise the strategic issues in a problem and demonstrate basic understanding of how a game theorist might decide on the appropriate tools to analyse it.
- demonstrate an understanding of the tools taught in class and be able to recognise their application to the analysis of simple real world situations.
- demonstrate an understanding of the underlying structure of games used in economics.
- demonstrate an understanding of simpler articles using game theory.
Indicative Assessment
- in class quizzes (15) [LO 1,2,3,4]
- Mid-Semester Exam (35) [LO 1,2,3,4]
- Final Exam (50) [LO 1,2,3,4]
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Workload
It is assumed that you are putting in a minimum of 10 hours of study per week; consisting of 3 hours of lectures, 1 hour of tutorials and 6 hours of individual study.
Inherent Requirements
Not applicable
Requisite and Incompatibility
You will need to contact the Research School of Economics to request a permission code to enrol in this course.
Prescribed Texts
see class summary
Specialisations
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 34
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2024 | $4680 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2024 | $6000 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
Second Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7417 | 27 Jul 2026 | 03 Aug 2026 | 31 Aug 2026 | 30 Oct 2026 | In Person | N/A |