Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-89b8bd64d-4ws75 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-05-07T23:02:44.407Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

4 - Game Theory and Mechanism Design

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 October 2025

Soroush Saghafian
Affiliation:
Harvard University, Massachusetts
Get access

Summary

This chapter is focused on game theory and mechanism design, presenting them as an important branch of analytics science that has impacted our world. Like all other chapters, it starts by presenting the big picture ideas, and showcasing various real-world examples in which those ideas have been impactful. It educates the reader though various familiar examples such as the simple decisions involved in cutting a cake and more critical decision-making scenarios such as what happened during the Battle of the Bismarck Sea or finding ways to reduce racial segregation in the society, and from policies that revolutionized life-saving ideas for those who are in dire need of transplantation to governments’ complex efforts in improving voting mechanisms. The chapter provides engaging stories showcasing how the main ideas in game theory and mechanism design have been impactful in a myriad of ways.

Information

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Book purchase

Temporarily unavailable

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×