Game Theory and the Law

This text applies the tools of game theory and information economics to advance the understanding of how laws work. Organized around the major solution concepts of game theory, the authors shows how such well-known "games" as the prisoner's dilemma, the battle of the sexes, beer-quiche and the Rubinstein bargaining game can illuminate many different kinds of legal problems. The organization of "Game Theory and the Law" serves to highlight the basic mechanisms at work and to lay out a natural progression in the sophistication of the game concepts and legal problems considered. "Game Theory and the Law" should serve as an accessible primer on game theory for non-specialists. Many of the models and ideas it sets forth, however, are new. The authors show how game theory offers ways of thinking about problems in anti-discrimination, environmental, labour and many other areas of law. The book makes few formal demands on the reader. The basic concepts of modern game theory are introduced without requiring mathematical tools beyond simple algebra, which is used sparingly. It also contains a comprehensive glossary of legal and economic terms, ranging from the absolute priority rule to von Neumann-Morgenstern expected utility theory. It offers those interested in law a way of thinking about legal rules, and it shows to those interested in game theory a largely unexplored area in which its tools have many applications.