Political Game Theory: An Introduction

Analytical Methods for Social Research

by Nolan M. McCarty, Adam Meirowitz

Political Game Theory is a self-contained introduction to game theory and its applications to political science. The book presents choice theory, social choice theory, static and dynamic games of complete information, static and dynamic games of incomplete information, repeated games, bargaining theory, mechanism design and a mathematical appendix covering, logic, real analysis, calculus and probability theory. The methods employed have many applications in various disciplines including comparative politics, international relations and American politics. Political Game Theory is tailored to students without extensive backgrounds in mathematics, and traditional economics, however there are also many special sections that present technical material that will appeal to more advanced students. A large number of exercises are also provided to practice the skills and techniques discussed.

Genres: Politics, Mathematics, Political Science

446 pages, Hardcover

First published December 31, 2006

Reviews

[Brad Kent · Rating 2 out of 5]

even after being improved in its second edition, this book is still replete with errors that should've been caught by the original editors. my professor keeps an in-house errata for it, and we must consult it before each assignment or risk misunderstanding one or more of the problems. even if there were no errors, though, the problems seem tied only loosely to the text, and there are no further resources available (unless you're an instructor, in which case there's a rumored solutions manual). the big selling point is that this volume is better for political scientists because the examples are from political science - but if i can't find similar examples anywhere else, and there are no resources beyond this poor text, how am i to confirm my answers?

[Art · Rating 2 out of 5]

this may be a great book if you are taking a grad class with a prof, but do not try it on your own unless you have a ton of calc knowledge