PER Mini-Course: Rajiv Vohra, “Coalitional Games and Farsightedness” (Part I)

This course will explore recent developments that incorporate farsighted behavior in coalitional games, which are designed to model rational behavior when groups have the ability to make binding agreements.  Applications include cartel formation, public goods provision and political party formation.  In the presence of externalities this approach is particularly useful in analyzing conditions under which efficiency may (or may not) arise in equilibrium (even though binding agreements are feasible).  While coalitional games, in principle, have the advantage of abstracting away from the details of the negotiation process, incorporating farsightedness poses some conceptual challenges that these lectures will explore.