3:30 p.m.
Introduction to Mechanism Design
Tanmoy Chakraborty
Harvard University.
05-03-12

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Abstract

In this talk I will cover some introductory concepts of game theory and mechanism design, and some mathematics that were crucial parts of Nobel prize winning work in economics. Topics will include equilibrium and incentive compatibility notions, welfare maximizing VCG auction, Myerson's revenue maximizing auctions in Bayesian setting, and the foundations of algorithmic mechanism design. No knowledge of economics or game theory is a prerequisite for this talk. The talk, however, will be fairly mathematical in content, and some intuition about probability will be helpful.