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Theory of Games and Economic Behavior 3rd Edition
This is the classic work upon which modern-day game theory is based. What began more than sixty years ago as a modest proposal that a mathematician and an economist write a short paper together blossomed, in 1944, when Princeton University Press published Theory of Games and Economic Behavior. In it, John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern conceived a groundbreaking mathematical theory of economic and social organization, based on a theory of games of strategy. Not only would this revolutionize economics, but the entirely new field of scientific inquiry it yielded--game theory--has since been widely used to analyze a host of real-world phenomena from arms races to optimal policy choices of presidential candidates, from vaccination policy to major league baseball salary negotiations. And it is today established throughout both the social sciences and a wide range of other sciences.
- ISBN-100691003629
- ISBN-13978-0691003627
- Edition3rd
- PublisherPrinceton University Press
- Publication dateMay 1, 1980
- LanguageEnglish
- Dimensions6.46 x 1.42 x 9.25 inches
- Print length648 pages
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"One cannot but admire the audacity of vision, the perseverance in details, and the depth of thought displayed in almost every page of the book. . . . The appearance of a book of [this] calibre . . . is indeed a rare event." ― The American Economic Review
"The main achievement of the book lies, more than in its concrete results, in its having introduced into economics the tools of modern logic and in using them with an astounding power of generalization." ― The Journal of Political Economy
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Product details
- Publisher : Princeton University Press; 3rd edition (May 1, 1980)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 648 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0691003629
- ISBN-13 : 978-0691003627
- Item Weight : 2 pounds
- Dimensions : 6.46 x 1.42 x 9.25 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,012,979 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #172 in Econometrics & Statistics
- #1,015 in Theory of Economics
- #9,358 in Mathematics (Books)
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Key Contributions:
The authors laid out a comprehensive mathematical framework for analyzing games, introducing concepts such as utility theory, equilibrium, and dominance. Their work provided a rigorous and systematic approach to modeling strategic interactions and decision-making under uncertainty. By formalizing the concepts of strategy, payoff, and rationality, Von Neumann and Morgenstern opened new avenues for studying a wide range of economic and social phenomena, from market competition and bargaining to conflict resolution and cooperation.
Enduring Relevance:
Despite being published nearly eight decades ago, "Theory of Games and Economic Behavior" continues to be highly relevant in contemporary research and real-world applications. The book's concepts and methodologies have provided the foundation for subsequent developments in game theory and have found widespread use in various disciplines, including economics, political science, computer science, and biology. The authors' insights into strategic behavior and rational decision-making remain central to understanding human interactions and predicting outcomes in complex social systems.
You basically have to be a mathematician to get full value from this book. This book is absolutely full of equations and complex proofs. For a beginner with little math, I'd recommend Game Theory by Morton Davis, or for someone with some university math I'd recommend Games and Decisions by Luce and Raiffa. However, if your math is good, you might as well go straight to this book, which started the whole field of game theory.
That said, this is not the best written Game Theory text out there. Like all seminal works, it suffers from the basic fact that we've learned a lot of new things since the time it was written. Many people have gone on to build and expand on the insights contained in this book, especially in the area of bargaining and cooperative game theory.
This is a very impressive book to keep on your shelf, and the discussion of poker and the role of bluffing is very interesting, but, owing largely to the 60+ years that have passed since its initial publication, it's not the best reference work or study material available.
Another word of warning: The review below is correct that the level of math that you must understand to fully appreciate this book is quite substantial. This book is more for the mathematically sophisticated who want to develop an appreciation for the origins of game theory.
I'm giving it four stars. It is jam-packed with great research and the reader can learn quite a bit, but the heavy math emphasis makes it difficult for many to consume.
Top reviews from other countries
Il reste cependant qu'avec de la patience, on arrive à rentrer dans la logique des auteurs, ce qui procure une grande émotion...
La partie développant les modèles de coalition est intéressante en ce qu'on sent que les auteurs ont du mal à étendre leur théorie à des jeux à n joueurs.
Un classique, c'est vrai, mais il faut le lire...





