Theory of Games and Economic Behavior

by Oskar Morgenstern, John von Neumann

This is the classic work upon which modern-day game theory is based. What began more than sixty years ago as a modest proposal that a mathematician and an economist write a short paper together blossomed, in 1944, when Princeton University Press published Theory of Games and Economic Behavior . In it, John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern conceived a groundbreaking mathematical theory of economic and social organization, based on a theory of games of strategy. Not only would this revolutionize economics, but the entirely new field of scientific inquiry it yielded--game theory--has since been widely used to analyze a host of real-world phenomena from arms races to optimal policy choices of presidential candidates, from vaccination policy to major league baseball salary negotiations. And it is today established throughout both the social sciences and a wide range of other sciences.

Genres: Economics, Mathematics, Nonfiction, Science, Business, Psychology, Philosophy

648 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1944

Reviews

[Lieb]

Modern Game Theory is difficult and this is the first book on the subject so you are already starting with quite a hill to climb. The authors don't make it any easier by using convoluted descriptions and poorly structured examples to present their excellent ideas. I gave this book a low review purely on the quality of the writing. Game Theory is an important subject and we are indebted to von Neumann and Morgenstern for formulating the concepts but unfortunately they were not able to present their ideas in a clear way. Check out http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/79... for a much better introduction to Game Theory.

[William Schram]

The Theory of Games and Economic Behavior, written by John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern in 1944, is a seminal work of Game Theory.

Professors von Neumann and Morgenstern build Game Theory from the ground up. They explore the results of certain actions and use those to predict the optimal play at any given moment. Along the way, von Neumann discusses his love of Poker and Chess. Through these seemingly unrelated topics, the authors eventually get to economics.

I read this book on a Kindle, and it worked out well enough. There were minor typos throughout the text, but not enough to be distracting. Thanks for reading my review, and see you next time.

[Giangy Giang]

He's John von Neumann. I don't think there's much else to say.

[Tyler]

A fascinating book. I will revisit it later on in my life for sure, but for what I did grasp I thought this book to be highly informative, and extremely impressive. This was an eye-opening experience. Watching Von Neumann and Morgenstern flip between mathematics and verbal explanation was impressive, and seeing the results of mathematical experiments and interpretations was breath taking. My favorite part was the applications of acyclicity. If you have a problem with the axiomization of numerical utility, he lays it all out immediately upon beginning the work, which is the foundation upon which it rests. He obviously concludes this explanation by simply stating that without a numerical, and in some cases integral, value of utility, some sociological/psychological observations are impossible and therefore his method of effective triangles explains human behavior in situations of exchange much better than indifference curve analysis.

This is a big recommend to any mathematician or Game Theorist, or even any computer scientist. Because hey, this all has applications within various avenues of scientific and mathematical thought.

[William Boyle]

Extremely challenging to read if you are not rather far along in your math career. I am a math major myself and found it quite confusing from the very beginning. I did not thoroughly understand how they proved that utility was a linear transformation always. It was also hard to keep track of all the variables when going through the proofs etc. This reads like an academic research paper (it kind of is) and so unless you are, as I suggested, far along in your math career, I do not recommend it. I just finished Linear Algebra to give an idea of my current mathematical understanding.

It likely is an excellent book, but I would not know and the majority will not either. I would recommend The Art of Strategy by Dixit and some other guy if you want an intro to Game Theory.

[Psychön von Reznhör]

"The aim of this book lies not in the direction of empirical research. The advancement of that side of economic science, on anything like the scale which was recognized above as necessary, is clearly a task of vast proportions. It may be hoped that as a result of the improvements of scientific technique and of experience gained in other fields, the development of descriptive economics will not take as much time as the comparison with astronomy would suggest. But in any case the task seems to transcend the limits of any individually planned program."

[Leonardo]

Theory of Games and Economic Behavior, escrita en 1944 por John von Neumann y Oskar Morgenstern, donde se explicitan los axiomas de lo que hoy se conoce como Teoría de la Utilidad Esperada (EUT).

Ensayos sobre Racionalidad en Economía

[Dean]

Didn’t finish. Too detailed for me. First 5% was fun to read, just because you can get a glimpse of how quick, playful, and powerful John von Neumann’s mind was. Quickly got bogged down with too much information though. Probably best suited for people who plan to do research in game theory.

[Elxan]

More than a book. Simply, this theory improves logical thinking and analyses abilities which changed the modern world history/science/industry since WW2

[Mr. Fake]

i love this book, is my favorite

[Dr Mona]

I think every self-respecting researcher needs to have this classic...

[Sai Luo]

The first book systematically developed the concept of game theory. But it's content is not much used.

[Debola Akeredolu]

This book proved far too theoretical to benefit someone who was looking for info on best approaches to gamification or creating new games. It included some concepts but mostly mathematical proofs.

[Michael Neal]

An enjoyable read believe it or not

[Bonnie]

Might be my favorite formulation of rationality. Yay math.

[Nathan Tartaglino]

Essential read for anyone serious about Game Theory

[Mostafa]

This was one of those books that constantly reminded me how much I still have to learn.

I won't pretend that I understood every mathematical proof or equation in the book there were definitely sections where I had to slow down, reread, and sometimes simply accept that I wasn't fully there yet.

But surprisingly, that was part of the fun. I enjoyed wrestling with the ideas, following the logic, and solving some of the mathematical problems along the way.

What impressed me most is how visionary von Neumann and Morgenstern were. Many concepts that seem standard today started here. At the same time, I couldn't help feeling that some of the assumptions and models belong to a different economic era. The modern world is far more interconnected, data-driven, and complex than what these frameworks were originally built to describe.

Still, reading this book felt like visiting the foundations of a great building. Even if some rooms feel old, the structure remains remarkable.

I’ll read it again for sure, but not anytime soon

A challenging but rewarding read.

[Gerald]

One of the GREAT books, world changing!

[Alexander Curran]

A complex and predicative book detailing game theory and economical activity/progression.

[Lukas]

An absolute must