Steven Tadelis

Game Theory: An Introduction introduces readers to the principal ideas and applications of game theory in a style that combines rigor with accessibility. Steven Tadelis begins with a concise description of rational decision-making and discusses strategic and extensive form games with complete information, Bayesian games, and forms with imperfect information.

He covers various topics, including multistage and repeated games, bargaining theory, auctions, rent-seeking games, mechanism design, signaling games, reputation building, and information transmission games. Unlike other books on game theory, this one begins with the idea of rationality and explores its implications for multiperson decision problems through concepts like dominated strategies and rationalizability. Only then does it present the subject of Nash equilibrium and its derivatives.

Game Theory is the ideal textbook for advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students. Concepts and methods are explained using real-world examples backed by precise analytic material. The book features many important applications to economics and political science, as well as numerous exercises that focus on formalizing informal situations and then analyzing them.