News

Game theory in the popular press.

 

Game theory and economics in the news

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)
September 8, 2004 Financial Times, Game theory helps insurers to judge the risks of terror
A model offers game theoretic predictions of the likelihood of terrorist attacks.
March 28, 2004 Times UK, Recession and other terrorist myths
Notes that international cooperation to fight terrorism is a prisoner's dilemma with each nation having incentive to do less than its share.
March 1, 2004 Wisden Asia Cricket, The humanising factor
Discusses the international importance of India-Pakistan cricket matches and notes that sport and war are often zero-sum games.
September 25, 2003 Tech Central Station, The game theory of nuclear proliferation
When nuclear weapons are involved, perhaps counting on rationality and common knowledge is a bit too much to ask, given the cost of failure.
September 11, 2003 New York Times, Two years later, a thousand years ago
A simplistic characterization of globalization and interdependence as making the world "more nonzero-sum," tying American prosperity to that of other nations.
July 31, 2003 Freezerbox, Who profits from erasing Iraq's debt?
A Pentagon advisor believes that financiers of "vicious dictatorships" should face a moral hazard but perhaps the hazard is for not supporting US efforts?
May 20, 2003 Sydney Morning Herald, How to bomb friends and alienate us all
Both tightening of security post 9/11 and terrorists' increased pursuit of "soft" targets reflect optimal mixed strategies.
May 15, 2003 Slate, Both sides now
A game theoretic analysis of the Middle East conflict, considering irrationality and whether the game is or is not zero-sum
April 14, 2003 Mises.org, Terrorism and the moral hazard
Argues that the insurance-industry requirement to offer terrorism insurance will lead to more terrorist attacks as moral hazard precludes care.
March 20, 2003 Salon.com, The mother of all gambles
Financial auction markets are better predictors of world events, from terrorism to elections.
March 16, 2003 Post-Gazette , Bush is playing 'chicken' not only with Saddam, but with the U.N. and allies, as well
Diplomatic and military brinkmanship games require strong commitments to win. Who will blink first on each front?
January 23, 2003 Los Angeles Times, Do the math: Rooting out terrorists is tricky business
Bayes' Rule indicates that even if we can predict a future terrorist with great accuracy, we will usually be wrong.
January 20, 2003 Philadelphia Inquirer, Strategic science
Game theory is applied to terrorism prevention, from optimal vaccination to baggage screening.
January 5, 2003 ABC News, Future world: privacy, terrorists, and science fiction
An application of Bayes' Rule indicating that even if we can predict a future terrorist with great accuracy, we will usually be wrong. (by John Allen Paulos)
December 17, 2002 Cato Institute, Why the United States should not attack Iraq
Argues that Saddam Hussein is rational and deterrence may be achieved through credible commitment.
November 8, 2002 Chronicle of Higher Education, Calculus of the battlefield
Describes at length research noting that deterrence in international relations requires fending off only select attacks.
September 9, 2002 The Guardian, Terror training
Alan Dershowitz argues that a credible commitment not to negotiate with terrorists decreases terrorist attacks.
July 1, 2002 Risk & Insurance, Terrorism Insurance: Where's the Coverage?
Terrorists' strategic response to new defenses must be considered in formulating policy and estimating risk.
April 8, 2002 Wall Street Journal, Can the risk of terrorism be calculated by insurers?
Understanding the mixed strategy game of target selection and defense helps quantify risk.
August 2, 2001 Science Daily, Adversaries would find other attack methods, game theory shows
Credibility in missile defense systems.
July 12, 2000 Beyond 2000.com, Putting the pawn into rocket science
Application of zero-sum pursuit-evasion games to missile defense.
July 12, 2000 Science a GoGo, The game of missile interception
Application of zero-sum pursuit-evasion games to missile defense