Collected Papers In Theoretical Economics: Rationality, Games, and Strategic Behaviour

The rise of game theory around the middle of the twentieth century has profoundly affected the way economic theory is practiced. The present book is a collection of Kaushik Basu s papers on game theory and, more generally, strategic analysis. It includes papers in both pure and applied theory. In the theoretical papers the emphasis is more on the philosophical foundations of rational and strategic behaviour than on the mathematical basis of game theory. They deal with questions like: Can social order be achieved entirely through the pursuit of selfish individual aims or are social norms and a commitment to some deontic principles necessary? What role does higher knowledge of interpersonal rationality play in guiding human behaviour? The applied papers range over topics in the organization and modeling of government behaviour and topics in industrial organization theory, such as entry-deterrence, psychology and pricing and collusion and antitrust legislation.