1994 Nobel Prize Economists: Contributions from Nash, Harsanyi and Selten to the Game Theory

ABSTRACT

The paper tries to highlight the influence of the 1994 three Nobel prize winners - J. Nash, R. Selten and J. Harsanyi on game theory as well as on economic theory. On the basic of textbooks examples the paper may also serve as a brief introduction to game theory itself. Some major concepts like Nash equilibrium, subgame-perfect equilibrium, trembling hand equilibrium and Harsanyi’s transformation are introduced to show with some examples the growing importance of game theory in modem economic theory.

KEYWORDS:
Nobel Prize, game theory; Nash; Harsanyi; Selten