We will finish this course with dynamic games with incomplete information. The last lecture will be held on May 14th, 10am-1pm. It will cover perfect Bayesian equilibrium, signaling games and some belief-based refinement, and common knowledge if time allows. Please read MWG 9.C-D, 13.C, 13.A.A, FT 8.1-3, 11.2, and EX. 14.4.
On the same day Elira will present Dessein's paper on authority and communication within an organization. The paper can be downloaded on JSTOR; presentation slides are here.
Slides are here. Suggested exercises are here.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Friday, May 9, 2008
Everybody has some secrets
The last two lectures will be devoted to games of incomplete information. On May 13rd, 2-5pm, we will talk about static games of incomplete information. We will first introduce the notion of "type" and "belief," and the equilibrium concept in this environment, namely, Bayesian equilibrium (MWG 8.E, and FT 6.1-5). As an application we will talk about mechanism design (MWG 23.B, D, E, and FT 7.1-4).
On the same day we have two presentations about two applications of mechanism design. Ilaria will present public goods provision (MWG 23.D and/or FT 7.4.3), and Caterina will present Armstrong's 1996 paper on multiproduct nonlinear pricing. You can download the paper on JSTOR. There slides are here and here.
Slides are here. Suggested exercises are here.
On the same day we have two presentations about two applications of mechanism design. Ilaria will present public goods provision (MWG 23.D and/or FT 7.4.3), and Caterina will present Armstrong's 1996 paper on multiproduct nonlinear pricing. You can download the paper on JSTOR. There slides are here and here.
Slides are here. Suggested exercises are here.
Monday, May 5, 2008
The next dance, and next, and next
On May 8th, 10am-1pm, we will talk about the dynamic game under perfect information. We will introduce subgame perfect equilibrium in both finite- and infinite-horizon games. Please read MWG 9.B, 12.D, 12.App.A and B. It's also helpful to read F-T Chp 4 (and Chp 3 and 5 if you have more time).
Also on that day Peng and Virginia will present two applications of repeated game, namely, tacit collusion and efficient wage bargaining, respectively. Peng's presentation will be based on the paper by Ivaldi et. al. (2003); and Virginia's presentation will be based on Paz Espinosa and Rhee (1989), which can be downloaded at JSTOR. Their presentation slides are here and here.
Slides are here. Suggested exercises are here.
Also on that day Peng and Virginia will present two applications of repeated game, namely, tacit collusion and efficient wage bargaining, respectively. Peng's presentation will be based on the paper by Ivaldi et. al. (2003); and Virginia's presentation will be based on Paz Espinosa and Rhee (1989), which can be downloaded at JSTOR. Their presentation slides are here and here.
Slides are here. Suggested exercises are here.
Turbulent office hour schedule
Due to the coming conferences, in May and June I will be in Lucca for the following Thursdays and Fridays:
May 8 (Thu) and 9 (Fri)
May 23 (Fri)
May 29 (Thu) and 30 (Fri)
June 5 (Thu) and 6 (Fri)
My July schedule is still uncertain, but very likely I'll only be in Lucca during the second week of July (roughly from 7-13th).
Those who want to come on this Thursday, May 8th, can sign up here.
May 8 (Thu) and 9 (Fri)
May 23 (Fri)
May 29 (Thu) and 30 (Fri)
June 5 (Thu) and 6 (Fri)
My July schedule is still uncertain, but very likely I'll only be in Lucca during the second week of July (roughly from 7-13th).
Those who want to come on this Thursday, May 8th, can sign up here.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
``Too technical''
I've read your feedbacks on the first part of the course. Thanks for these comments.
I surely share the common feeling that there is severe time constraint, and agree that there are quite a few things to improve. Here are some remarks about the ``technicality'' issue.
A plain truth in this profession is that, while applying economic theory to interesting and relevant real life experiences may be, and should be the drive to pursue a career as an economist, the ability to be formal and rigorous is a threshold you need to pass in order to be qualified as an economist in the first place. Whether you plan to become a theorist or not, rigor, precision, and being formal are fundamental in scientific writing. This means you need to be able to read and write papers in that way.
For most people, I believe, it takes time, efforts, and even some pain to build this ability. This is the ``gap'' I mentioned before, and helping you during this process is what I meant to make this transition period as smooth as possible. The bottom line is, you will need this ability soon. If we don't tackle this together in the classroom, you'll have to deal with it by yourself.
That said, and my presentation skills aside, I do not consider the material I presented in class ``too technical.'' On the contrary, I think it is not technical enough. You must have noticed that what's in the slides are mostly simplified MWG, and on the whiteboard I used mainly figures or number examples. The first part of MWG is pretty much what one would expect from a PhD student everywhere. As most people, you may have difficulties in the beginning, but eventually you'll need this level of technicality.
I surely share the common feeling that there is severe time constraint, and agree that there are quite a few things to improve. Here are some remarks about the ``technicality'' issue.
A plain truth in this profession is that, while applying economic theory to interesting and relevant real life experiences may be, and should be the drive to pursue a career as an economist, the ability to be formal and rigorous is a threshold you need to pass in order to be qualified as an economist in the first place. Whether you plan to become a theorist or not, rigor, precision, and being formal are fundamental in scientific writing. This means you need to be able to read and write papers in that way.
For most people, I believe, it takes time, efforts, and even some pain to build this ability. This is the ``gap'' I mentioned before, and helping you during this process is what I meant to make this transition period as smooth as possible. The bottom line is, you will need this ability soon. If we don't tackle this together in the classroom, you'll have to deal with it by yourself.
That said, and my presentation skills aside, I do not consider the material I presented in class ``too technical.'' On the contrary, I think it is not technical enough. You must have noticed that what's in the slides are mostly simplified MWG, and on the whiteboard I used mainly figures or number examples. The first part of MWG is pretty much what one would expect from a PhD student everywhere. As most people, you may have difficulties in the beginning, but eventually you'll need this level of technicality.
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