Undergraduate Course: Economics of Strategic Behaviour 1 (ECNM10032)

Course Outline
School	School of Economics	College	College of Humanities and Social Science
Credit level (Normal year taken)	SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate)	Availability	Available to all students
SCQF Credits	20	ECTS Credits	10
Summary	This half-course Senior Honours option comprises the first term of the full-course option the Economics of Strategic Behaviour. The half-course reviews the game theoretic analysis of interactive decision-making, covering static and dynamic games with complete information, and static games with incomplete information. The basic concepts developed include: Nash equilibrium; dominant strategies; mixed strategies; games in extensive form; subgame perfection; timing & commitment. The concepts are illustrated by applications, such as: Cournot oligopoly; the "tragedy of the commons"; tennis; bargaining; policy credibility.
Course description	This course is concerned with the analysis of economic problems that involve strategic interaction. The principal tool in this analysis will be the theory of games. The purpose of this course is to introduce the basic concepts of game theory and show how they can be of use in the analysis of economic problems and policy issues. Topics covered include: Static games with complete information, Basic concepts. Nash equilibrium. Dominant strategies. Mixed strategies. Examples: Cournot, żtragedy of the commonsż, tennis. Dynamic games with complete information: Games in extensive form. Subgame perfection. Timing, commitment. Examples: policy credibility, repeated games. Additional Topics: evolutionary game theory, matching The course is taught through a programme of lectures and tutorials. Learning-by-doing, through problem solving and discussion of exercise sets, is an important ingredient of the course.

Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites	Students MUST have passed: Topics in Microeconomics (ECNM10070)	Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations	Students MUST NOT also be taking Economics of Strategic Behaviour (ECNM10013)	Other requirements	None

Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisites	None
High Demand Course?	Yes

Course Delivery Information

Academic year 2017/18, Available to all students (SV1)		Quota: None
Course Start	Semester 1
Timetable	Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info)	Total Hours: 200 ( Lecture Hours 20, Seminar/Tutorial Hours 3, Summative Assessment Hours 2, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 171 )
Assessment (Further Info)	Written Exam 80 %, Coursework 20 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment)	Take home problem set (20% of the final mark); A 2 hour Degree examination in April/May diet (80% of the final mark). Visiting Student Variant Assessment A take-home problem set (50% of the final mark); two additional take-home problem sets (each worth 25% of the final mark).
Feedback	Not entered
Exam Information
Exam Diet	Paper Name		Hours & Minutes
Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May)			2:00

Academic year 2017/18, Part-year visiting students only (VV1)		Quota: None
Course Start	Semester 1
Timetable	Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info)	Total Hours: 200 ( Lecture Hours 20, Seminar/Tutorial Hours 3, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 173 )
Assessment (Further Info)	Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment)	Take home problem set (20% of the final mark); A 2 hour Degree examination in April/May diet (80% of the final mark). Visiting Student Variant Assessment A take-home problem set (50% of the final mark); two additional take-home problem sets (each worth 25% of the final mark).
Feedback	Not entered
No Exam Information

Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to: A broad knowledge and understanding of key principles of static and dynamic game theory in a complete information setting, the importance of timing, commitment and credibility associated mathematical and statistical techniques, along with applications and policy implications of those models and a deeper understanding of recent research activity in some more specialised areas. Research and investigative skills such as problem framing and solving and the ability to assemble and evaluate complex evidence and arguments. Communication skills in order to critique, create and communicate understanding. Personal effectiveness through task-management, time-management, dealing with uncertainty and adapting to new situations, personal and intellectual autonomy through independent learning. Practical/technical skills such as, modelling skills (abstraction, logic, succinctness), qualitative and quantitative analysis.