The one similarity shared by the U.S. China Trade War, OPEC negotiations, and two burglars separated in jail is the Prisoners’ Dilemma.…
What Economists Say About a Penalty Kick
Confirming that economics relates to almost everything, game theory can explain yesterday’s women’s World Cup semifinal penalty kick save by the U.S. team.…
How an Art Heist Is like the Government Shutdown
Whether looking at an art heist, government shutdown negotiations or a soccer shootout, game theory can explain people’s behavior.…
How Game Theory Explains World Cup Penalty Shootouts
We can use economic game theory to understand the decisions made by kickers and goalies during World Cup penalty shootouts.…
The Price of a Nobel Prize
The auction prices for Nobel Prize medals are more than a number because a price can give us information about a good or a service,…
Weekly Roundup: From Greek Games to Tennis Matches
Our everyday economics includes externalities, branding, monopolistic competition, sovereign debt, game theory, elasticity, taxes, markets and the glass ceiling.…
Greek and German Games
For insight on how Greece and Germany handle the prisoner’s dilemma as they negotiate Greek debt, we can compare their differences and eurozone loyalty.…
Next Day Delivery and the Prisoner's Dilemma
Retailers face the prisoners’ dilemma when deciding whether to keep next day shipping guarantees on December 23rd because a decision relates to what others do.…
Nobel Matchmakers
One of the first calls a new Nobel Prize winner might get is from Adam Smith, editor of NobelPrize.org. As you might expect, hearing his name, people initially wonder if the call is for real. Usually …
OPEC and the Prisoners' Dilemma
Faced with rising prices and pressure to increase production what should OPEC (the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) do? They could not agree. Why? Maybe it’s the prisoners’ d…