News

Game theory in the popular press.

 

Game theory and economics in the news

August 18, 2006 Ventura County Star, Health plan for small firms to shut down
Insurers participating in pooled-employer programs lose money, possibly due to adverse selection, as high-risk employees are more likely to select certain plans. (by Allison Bruce)
August 17, 2006 BBC News, All is fair in love, war and poker
Game theory can be used to become the world champion of poker and to understand the commitment power of engagement rings. (by Tim Harford)
August 17, 2006 The Australian, Economic crunch of ageing
Annuities offer reduced risk for an ageing population, but adverse selection leads to high premiums, as those with high life expectancies are most likely to enroll. (by David Uren)
August 11, 2006 Globe and Mail, Taxpayers will pay the tab when it's 'too big to fail'
New bond-rating system for Canadian banks takes into account the likelihood of government bailouts, recognizing moral hazard (by Harry Koza)
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August 10, 2006 Wired News, Drugs: Sports' Prisoner's Dilemma
The decision to take steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs is a dominant strategy, leading to a prisoner's dilemma (by Bruce Schneier)
August 8, 2006 The Korea Times, Things to Check Before Buying Homes in US
New regulations encourage Korean citizens to purchase homes in the US, but information asymmetry and adverse selection require caution -- a simple tale of the lemons problem applied to homes. (by Chang Se-moon)
August 8, 2006 MarketWatch, Lizards, rats & the investor's primitive brain
Even Wall Street's biggest money managers overbid in the traditional dollar auction. (by Paul B. Farrell)
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August 3, 2006 Slate, Hezbollah and the Prisoner's Dilemma
Questions the wisdom of applying tit for tat to the Israel-Lebanon war (by Tim Harford)
July 31, 2006 Times Herald-Record, The cost of the moral hazard: You are paying for it
Regular flooding of the Delaware River is due to moral hazard. Responsible parties, including energy companies, face no responsibility as the federal government provides relief. (by Graham L. Brown)
July 29, 2006 Barron's, Hedging Your Hedge-Fund Bet
Argues that investors should stay away from hedge funds because of cognitive biases and the winner's curse. (by Jonathan Reiss)
July 28, 2006 Investor's Business Daily, Let Employees Control Future Of Retirements
Adverse selection in the pension insurance market is overcome with mandating insurance coverage, but moral hazard persists. (by Jagadeesh Gokhale and Peter van Doren)
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July 27, 2006 Mail and Guardian, Medical schemes under the spotlight
Argues that waiting periods for medical insurance coverage in South Africa should be used only to overcome adverse selection, not to forward discrimination.
July 27, 2006 USA Today, Batter up! Sports economics hits field
Discusses why economic analysis of sport is becoming increasingly more common (by Sue Kirchhoff)
July 26, 2006 Gallatin News Examiner, Boater's game of chicken goes afoul
A drunk boater speeds directly at police, described as a game of chicken (with unfortunate pun) in the headline. (by Brandon Puttbrese)
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July 21, 2006 The Record (Troy, NY), Game of chicken goes bad
Failing to learn from James Dean, and suffer a head-on auto collision as both refuse to lose in a game of chicken (by James V. Franco)
July 19, 2006 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, CMU deals a winning hand for Texas Hold 'em
Computer scientists use game theory to create poker-playing computers. (by David Templeton)
July 19, 2006 PokerMag, WSOP Update - Day 22
William Chen, a PhD mathematician, uses game theory and mathematics to win at the World Series of Poker. (by Ryan McLane)
June 24, 2006 Slate, World Cup Game Theory
Optimal soccer penalty kicks require the use of mixed strategies. Zidane and Buffon are cited not only as world-class players but also master strategists. (by Tim Harford)
June 10, 2006 Slate, Buy! Buy! Buy! Sell! Sell! Sell!
Stock market frenzies and crashes need not be due to exuberance or idiocy, but may reflect rational signaling and information herding. (by Tim Harford)
June 7, 2006 ABC News, Judge rules dispute to be settled by 'rock, paper, scissors' match
Lawyers will face off, with the assistance of paralegals. Perhaps mixed strategy equilibria will be a required topic in law schools. (by Matt Sokoloff)
May 13, 2006 Slate, Risky Business
A discussion of the theoretical and psychological elements of risk in the insurance industry (by Tim Harford)
May 5, 2006 Financial Times, The Poker Machine
A lengthy discussion of the game-theoretic aspects of poker (by Tim Harford)
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May 5, 2006 The Scientist, Sexual selection alternative slammed
Angry letters respond to a review article in Science which suggested that cooperative game theory is a better model of reproduction than Darwin's sexual selection. (by Nick Atkinson)
April 29, 2006 Slate, If Life Gives You Lemons ...
A discussion of Akerlof's famous lemon problem, and the role of adverse selction in the markets for used cars and insurance (by Tim Harford)
April 1, 2006 Slate, There's Not Enough Money in Politics
A clever argument, applying simple insights from auction theory, that lobbyists have less power than commonly imagined. (by Tim Harford)
March 16, 2006 ABC News, Mission impossible: In search of strangers in New York City
The theory of focal points suggests that random strangers should be able to find each other in New York City in this Primetime experiment.
March 15, 2006 ABC News, Lose the weight, or wear the bikini on TV
Thomas Schelling's Nobel prize winning theory helps people diet, with public humiliation facing those who do not lose the weight.
March 6, 2006 BusinessWeek, The Secret To Google's Success
Describes Google's and Yahoo's online auctions for ad space, delving into the theory of first- and second-price auctions, and the winner's curse.
February 6, 2006 Morningstar, Buy J&J and Avoid the Winner's Curse
In suggesting investors buy Johnson and Johnson, the article touches upon the winner's curse in takeover abttles. (by Pat Dorsey)