Game Changer - the game theory podcast

To share or not to share. Credit, incentives and competition among researchers | with Remco Heesen In this episode Remco Heesen shares his insights on the trade-offs researchers face when deciding whether to share intermediate results with fellow researchers. He explains how incentive structures in research lead to a suboptimal outcome and gives historic examples of prominent researchers who have...

In this episode, we discuss with Paul Papayoanou his real life experience as a consultant applying Game Theory. Paul has worked on over 150 engagements using his expertise. In our discussion we especially focus on Paul's experience in consulting bidders participating in auctions. Paul shares how he prepares his clients when they enter an auction and what makes a good bidding strategy.   Paul Papay...

To celebrate 50 episodes of Game Changer, we take a look behind the scenes. The hosts Simon and Florian take the role of interviewees and answer Miriam's questions on their motivation and goals for the game changer podcast and how the episodes are prepared and recorded. We would like to thank all our listeners for sticking with us for 50 episodes and we are looking forward to the next 50 episodes...

In this episode, we focus on 'decision theory' and discuss with Shachar its connection to Game Theory. Shachar shares the three key trade-offs relevant for taking a decision. We also discuss the 'dictator game' and how Shachar applied a modified version of the dictator game to study preferences of decision makers in real life.   Shachar Kariv is Benjamin N. Ward Professor of Economics at the Unive...

In this episode we talk to Ben Lyttleton about a particular topic in football: how to score the perfect penalty. Ben is an expert on penalties and has gathered a lot of insights on the 'perfect penalty' in his book Twelve Yards: The Art & Psychology of the Perfect Penalty . Ben shares that penalties are much more complex than initial Game Theory models would suggest. For a full understanding of pe...

In this episode, Karolin Kirschenmann explains why this year's Nobel Prize in economics was given to Ben Bernanke, Douglas Diamond and Philip Dybvig. We discuss their research on the role of banks in the economy and the models developed by the researchers. We deep-dive into the modelling of bank-runs and their relationship to Game Theory.     Karolin Kirschenmann is deputy head of ZEW's Research U...

In this episode, Scott Kominers introduces us to the exciting world of NFTs. We learn about their fascinating properties and their potential for creating new markets or reshaping existing ones. Scott also gives a few practical examples of how NFTs can be used, both in the digital and the real world. Scott also gave us the idea of creating our very own NFT: We used the Proof of Attendance Protocol...

In this episode, we discuss with Achim how addressing climate change and economics, especially market design, are linked. Achim shares which economic incentives we should utilize to ensure we can meet our climate goal. Our discussion is based on Achim's very recent new book publication "Klima muss sich lohnen" ( https://www.zew.de/klimapolitik ). Achim Wambach is the president of the ZEW, the Leib...

In this episode, Bruce shows us how Game Theory can be successfully applied in the field of political science. In particular, we discuss the explanatory and predictive power of the Selectorate Theory, which analyses political systems regarding their properties as democracy or autocracy. Bruce explains the underlying game theoretic model of this theory, how he obtains the data, and which conclusion...

In this episode Christoph Kuzmics explains the game theoretic concept of Common Knowledge, using fun anecdotes from his personal life. We also learn that Common Knowledge is much more than just passing information to all parties, and that in some situations, it is desirable not to establish full information. Christoph Kuzmics  is professor of microeconomics at the university of Graz, Austria. His...

This is a short announcement of Game Changer Podcast going on summer break and returning on September 13 th . Enjoy your summer and until September – the TWS Game changer team!

This episode is all about cooperation and altruism. Erez Yoeli explains how these concepts can be modelled using game theory, and which measures can be taken to increase altruism in different situations. He also shares the success story of the company Keheala , which uses game theoretic insights to foster altruistic behaviour in the healthcare context. Erez Yoeli is a research scientist at MIT's S...

In this episode Alexander Teytelboym walks us through the intricacies of uniform-price auctions. While often praised for their theoretical properties, putting them into practice successfully can turn out to be quite the challenge. Alex shares with us what can be learned about auction design from observing uniform-price auctions in the fishing industry and how game theory can explain fishermen's bi...

Think like a Virus! Viewing the Pandemic through the Lens of Game Theory | with Joshua Gans In this episode Joshua Gans shares his insights on the ongoing pandemic from a game theoretic perspective. He explains how he first got into the topic, why being deadly is generally not the best strategy for any virus, and how hidden information can help a virus thrive. Joshua then walks us through ways to...

In this episode, Jason Thompson explains how Game Theory can help understand interactions on the roads and in traffic. We discuss agent-based-modelling and its application to analysing the behaviour of road users in traffic intersection. Jason gives examples on 'different games' at traffic intersections and compares the game induced by traffic regulations with the one originating from varying powe...

Digital Players & Future Markets – Game Theory in Machine Learning & Common Ownership topics | with Martin Schmalz   In this episode, Martin Schmalz explains what machine learning has to do with economics and game theory and its relationship to common ownership. He gives some practical examples for game theoretic situations in which machine learning is already used, and shows where potential benef...

Playing nice – Trust and reputation in Game Theory, eCommerce and vaccinations | with Steve Tadelis In this episode we talk to Steve Tadelis about reputation and trust. He explains how he first got into the topic, what reputation means in the context of Game Theory and how even leaving no review at all could signal reputation on platforms like ebay. He also shows how powerful reputation and trust...

In this episode, we discuss with Nick Arnosti the economic aspects of lotteries. Nick explains in which sense lotteries are a relevant economic mechanism, and gives some examples of where and why they are used. We focus in particular on the use of lotteries in the allocation of affordable housing in New York.   Nick Arnosti  is assistant professor at the University of Minnesota. His research is fo...

In this episode we are talking to Economics Professor Eyal Winter, who works as both an academic researcher and as a consultant who supports his clients in various auction settings. We discuss how consulting differs from theoretical research, and how to best behave in an auction setting. Eyal also shows how emotions can sometimes strongly influence people's behaviour in auctions.   Eyal Winter is...

Backward Induction, Child Penalties and the Gender Pay Gap | with Carlotta Pilgram In this episode we are talking to Carlotta Pilgram, Consultant at TWS Partners and Economics graduate from Lund University in Sweden. We discuss the role of Game Theory in analysing the gender pay gap, the current state of research, why many intuitive explanations have little explanatory power and what measures can...

In this episode we are talking to Hannah Rubin about policy making, incentive structures and Game Theory in the world of sciences. Together we dig into why policies set up with the best intentions can backfire when existing incentive structures are not taken into account, e.g. when it comes to the goal of increasing diversity in grant applications, and how these policies could be improved. We disc...

In this episode, we talk to Peter Cramton about the electricity market. We discuss the 2021 Texas electricity crisis that left millions of Texans without electricity for four extremely cold days. Peter explains how understanding the crisis is important for markets everywhere. He shares with us that a reliable gas supply is essential for resilient electricity and Europe must reduce its dependence o...

The game of chess has been around for centuries and still hasn't lost its touch which is demonstrated by the sheer number of professional and non-professional players and countless pop culture references. In this episode chess grandmaster Daniel King walks us through his very own journey from being a professional chess player to becoming author, live commentator and YouTuber and what it takes to c...

In this episode we talk to Paul Smaldino about identity signaling. He walks us through its definition, the most common examples of identity signaling like language or fashion choices and how game theory can be used to model it. He explains why it is sometimes wise to signal covertly rather than overtly, how this depends on the heterogeneity of groups and what experimental evidence from Twitter has...

In this episode we talk to Jamey Stegmaier, a board game designer, taking a step away from pure game theory to talk about designing board games. He explains where he gets his initial ideas for new games and what makes a great board game from his perspective. Relating to mechanism design we discuss which mechanisms generate a good interactive game. Jamey also shares his experiences of publishing ga...