Do you get a good deal when you purchase a TV from a store that gives a "lowest price guarantee" or when you reserve a hotel room through an online travel agency that promises to refund you the difference when your hotel is booked for a lower price later? If you want to understand the forces at play in these situations, then you need to understand strategic interaction.
No firm, government or person operates in a vacuum. The action that someone takes may not only have consequences for herself, but also for others, and vice versa. On the one hand we need to form beliefs about actions taken by others in order to know what action to choose oneself. On the other hand, we may influence decisions taken by others via our own decisions. That is, we engage in strategic thinking.
This paper provides an introduction to strategic thinking, and when you take it, you will learn to recognise and analyse strategic situations.
| Paper title | Special Topic: Game Theory |
|---|---|
| Paper code | ECON351 |
| Subject | Economics |
| EFTS | 0.1500 |
| Points | 18 points |
| Teaching period | Second Semester |
| Domestic Tuition Fees (NZD) | $846.30 |
| International Tuition Fees (NZD) | $4,073.10 |
- Prerequisite
- ECON 201 or ECON 271
- Schedule C
- Arts and Music, Commerce, Science
- Contact
- economics@otago.ac.nz
- More information link
- View more information about ECON 351
- Teaching staff
- Ronald Peeters
- Textbooks
- Harrington J.E. (2014). Games, Strategies, and Decision Making (2nd ed.). Worth Publishers, New York. (ISBN 978-1429239967).
- Graduate Attributes Emphasised
- Lifelong learning, Critical thinking, Scholarship, Information literacy, Self-motivation.
View more information about Otago's graduate attributes. - Learning Outcomes
- Students who successfully complete ECON 351 should be able to:
- Demonstrate an understanding of a variety of game theoretic methods of analysing behaviour in strategic situations
- Apply that understanding to predict behaviour and evaluate business and policy options
- Reflect on game theoretical methods from a multi-disciplinary perspective
- Appreciate the impact that game theory has made, and continues to make, in a variety of contexts
Timetable
The economics of household decision-making about marriage, divorce, fertility and labour market participation, the limitations of GDP as a measure of wellbeing, and measures of human, social and natural capital.
NZ has experienced a rapid change in family structures over the last decade towards
greater diversity in families, including single parenthood, parents who do not live
with their children but are still involved, etc. Economic reasoning can help explain
the dramatic changes that have occurred, both in New Zealand and around the world
by analysing household decisions related to marriage and cohabitation, divorce, labour
market participation of women, and childbearing.
These decisions have an
important impact on income and the overall wellbeing of the society, which will be
the subject of the latter part of the course. New Zealand’s Wellbeing Budget in 2019
has been internationally recognised as part of the growing global awareness of the
different dimensions of wellbeing and the need to develop meaningful measures other
than Gross Domestic Product. The Wellbeing Budget draws on the Government’s Living
Standards Framework, which focuses on people’s capabilities to live the life they
value and have reasons to value, based on Sen’s ‘capabilities approach’. Overall,
the Economics of Households and Wellbeing will provide graduates with the skills to
comprehend and critically assess how households make economic choices and the changes
in societal structures and wellbeing, which allows for informed discourse and policy
making.
| Paper title | Special Topic: Economics of Households and Wellbeing |
|---|---|
| Paper code | ECON351 |
| Subject | Economics |
| EFTS | 0.1500 |
| Points | 18 points |
| Teaching period | Second Semester |
| Domestic Tuition Fees (NZD) | $863.25 |
| International Tuition Fees (NZD) | $4,276.80 |
- Prerequisite
- ECON 201 or ECON 271
- Schedule C
- Arts and Music, Commerce, Science
- Contact
- Teaching staff
- Textbooks
Required: Saul D. Hoffman and Susan Averett (2015) Women and the Economy: Family, Work and Pay, 3rd edition, Macmillan International Higher Education (ISBN 9781137477033).
Other key readings include: NZ Treasury reports (accessible online) and chapters from a selection of other books (available via e-Reserve).- Graduate Attributes Emphasised
Global perspective, Interdisciplinary perspective, Communication, Critical thinking, Research, Self-motivation.
View more information about Otago's graduate attributes.- Learning Outcomes
Students who successfully complete the paper will have developed a range of subject-specific knowledge and skills. They will be able to:
- Discuss the economic theory of marriage, the reasons and consequences of divorce, the relationship between marriage and the relative earnings of men and women.
- Discuss the economic explanations for the recent trends in fertility.
- Describe and explain the recent trend in women’s labour market participation.
- Explain the gender gap in earnings in a variety of settings.
- Discuss the strength and weaknesses of GDP as a measure of wellbeing.
- Discuss Sen's capabilities approach.
- Describe and analyse the Solow growth model.
- Describe the components of human, social and natural capital.
