Game Theory and the Law [Paperback]

Douglas Baird (Author), Robert Gertner (Author), Randal Picker (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0674341112 | ISBN-13: 978-0674341111 | Publication Date: September 1, 1998

This text applies the tools of game theory and information economics to advance the understanding of how laws work. Organized around the major solution concepts of game theory, the authors shows how such well-known "games" as the prisoner's dilemma, the battle of the sexes, beer-quiche and the Rubinstein bargaining game can illuminate many different kinds of legal problems. The organization of "Game Theory and the Law" serves to highlight the basic mechanisms at work and to lay out a natural progression in the sophistication of the game concepts and legal problems considered. "Game Theory and the Law" should serve as an accessible primer on game theory for non-specialists. Many of the models and ideas it sets forth, however, are new. The authors show how game theory offers ways of thinking about problems in anti-discrimination, environmental, labour and many other areas of law. The book makes few formal demands on the reader. The basic concepts of modern game theory are introduced without requiring mathematical tools beyond simple algebra, which is used sparingly. It also contains a comprehensive glossary of legal and economic terms, ranging from the absolute priority rule to von Neumann-Morgenstern expected utility theory. It offers those interested in law a way of thinking about legal rules, and it shows to those interested in game theory a largely unexplored area in which its tools have many applications.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Game Theory and the Law promises to be the definitive guide to the field. It provides a highly sophisticated yet exceptionally clear explanation of game theory, with a host of applications to legal issues. The authors have not only synthesized the existing scholarship, but also created the foundation for the next generation of research in law and economics."
--Daniel A. Farber, University of Minnesota Law School

The most comprehensive and encompassing treatment of this approach...[This] is the first nontechnical, modern introduction to how (noncooperative) game theory can be applied specifically to legal analysis...Game Theory and the Law is a user-friendly analysis of concrete, numerical examples, rather than a theoretical presentation of abstract concepts. The authors introduce and explain, with actual legal cases or hypotheticals, the salient issues of modern game theory. This breadth of coverage is remarkable. This is not just a textbook; it is also something of a research monograph, introducing many new models attributable to the authors alone.
--Peter H. Huang (Jurimetrics Journal )

Game Theory and the Law is an important book. It is important in the sense that it will serve as a catalyst for an expanded use of game-theoretic models in the study of law. It will be a book that people will one day recognize as having had a considerable influence on its field. And it will receive the praise that accompanies such influence. Happily, such influence will be beneficial to the field of law and such praise will be richly deserved, because Game Theory and the Law is an extremely intelligent and thoughtful text...One of the features of the book that is most striking (and, for my part, most welcome) is the thoughtful and sensible manner in which they approach the use of game theory. Unlike many proponents of game-theoretic analysis, they do not present it as the only legitimate approach to social-scientific analysis. The authors present game theory as a powerful tool that can be used along with other approaches to enhance our understanding of the role of law in social life...The persuasiveness of their general argument for the utility of game theory derives from a combination of the power of their insights along with the sensibility of their analysis. The book is written in a clear, concise and interesting manner. Its bibliographic references render it a source book for additional research in both game theory and law. This is a book that should be read by scholars of law in particular and scholars of political behavior in particular.
--Jack Knight (Law and Politics Book Review )

About the Author

Douglas G. Baird is Dean of the Law School at the University of Chicago.

Robert H. Gertner is Professor of Economics and Strategy at the University of Chicago.

Randal C. Picker is Paul and Theo Leffmann Professor of Law at the University of Chicago.

Product Details

• Paperback: 344 pages
• Publisher: Harvard University Press (September 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674341112
• ISBN-13: 978-0674341111
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 6.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #264,213 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A pathbreaking work of importance and clarity, April 30, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Game Theory and the Law (Hardcover)

This book popularizes and extends a new approach (non-cooperative game theory) to the economic analysis of law. Readable and concise, this book is a must for students and scholars wishing to understand the ways in which legal rules can be usefully modeled as non-cooperative games. As a professor in the discipline, I am awed by the important and brilliant scholarship presented in this book with superb skill.

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great analysis of common strategic behavior problems, December 26, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Game Theory and the Law (Hardcover)

This is a great example of how the rigor of game theory can give startling insights into outcomes of common situations. Although I'm no mathematician or economist, all business people are at some point required to base their decisions on how they think others will behave. This book provides some great frameworks for structuring that thought process.

2.0 out of 5 stars Could have been MUCH better, January 14, 2011

By 

Vahan D. "Vahan D" (Northridge) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Game Theory and the Law (Paperback)

The problem I had with this book is the manner with which it was written.
It was written in a very assuming way, as if the authors believed you know
what they are talking about; this was awfully pretentious, since it's meant
to be an introduction as opposed to an improvement on prior knowledge.
Also, there were VERY confusing transitions. For instance, they would mention
something they were going to talk about, deviate and go off tangent for a
few pages, then start again on the topic with no clean modulation.
Varian has a few chapters in his Microeconomics book that makes many (but not
all) of the same points as this book, only he does it in a more illustrative,
easy to follow, and even exciting manner.