News

Game theory in the popular press.

 

Game theory and economics in the news

August 17, 2006 The Australian, Economic crunch of ageing
Annuities offer reduced risk for an ageing population, but adverse selection leads to high premiums, as those with high life expectancies are most likely to enroll. (by David Uren)
August 11, 2006 Globe and Mail, Taxpayers will pay the tab when it's 'too big to fail'
New bond-rating system for Canadian banks takes into account the likelihood of government bailouts, recognizing moral hazard (by Harry Koza)
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August 8, 2006 MarketWatch, Lizards, rats & the investor's primitive brain
Even Wall Street's biggest money managers overbid in the traditional dollar auction. (by Paul B. Farrell)
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July 29, 2006 Barron's, Hedging Your Hedge-Fund Bet
Argues that investors should stay away from hedge funds because of cognitive biases and the winner's curse. (by Jonathan Reiss)
June 10, 2006 Slate, Buy! Buy! Buy! Sell! Sell! Sell!
Stock market frenzies and crashes need not be due to exuberance or idiocy, but may reflect rational signaling and information herding. (by Tim Harford)
February 6, 2006 Morningstar, Buy J&J and Avoid the Winner's Curse
In suggesting investors buy Johnson and Johnson, the article touches upon the winner's curse in takeover abttles. (by Pat Dorsey)
September 30, 2004 ABC News, How we guess what others will do
An introduction to the p-beauty contest and its repeated play, with some vague application to financial markets (by John Allen Paulos)
July 31, 2003 Freezerbox, Who profits from erasing Iraq's debt?
A Pentagon advisor believes that financiers of "vicious dictatorships" should face a moral hazard but perhaps the hazard is for not supporting US efforts?
July 16, 2003 Kansas City Star, This deal had losers, not victims
A judge believes that investors should take responsibility for stock market losses. Allowing losers to sue brokerages would create a moral hazard.
January 11, 2003 Business Standard, The games anti-Keynesians play
Game theorist John Nash likes Keynesian economists to Bolsheviks, speaks against nation-controlled currencies.
December 6, 2002 Disinformation, The art of mega deals
Rupert Murdoch's success in business is partly the result of "understanding how game theory shaped deal negotiations and inter-firm competition" (by Alex Burns)
November 26, 2002 United Press International, The bear's lair: Unnatural monopolies
The Federal Reserve's stimulus policies present a moral hazard.
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August 9, 2002 The Independent, IMF's $30bn bailout for Brazil sends lenders the wrong signal
International monetary fund bail-outs cause moral hazard, bad investments (by Philip Thornton)
June 27, 2002 Economist, Bidding adieu?
Examines the role of the winner's curse in auctions for cell phones and IPOs.
May 1, 2002 Scientific American, When markets go mad
Econophysics tries to explain market movement melding adaptive systems resarch with behavioral game theory.
March 25, 2002 Freebuck.com, The Fed and Moral Hazard: have the nuts taken over the asylum?
Argues that the Federal Reserve's economy-bolstering actions create a moral hazard.
January 3, 2002 Nature, The physics of the trading floor
Physicists argue that irrationality leads to exploitable patterns in the stock market. (by Mark Buchanan)
2002 Bangkok Post, Four-year timeframe looks likely
Deposit insurance agency may introduce moral hazard by charging the same premiums from all institutions regardless of risk.
December 4, 2001 CNet News.com, Blunders aplenty in AT&T, @Home talks
Excite loses in game of chicken against AT&T by underestimating its opponent
October 31, 2001 The Street.com, Moral hazard lights flare around bailouts
Government aid to the insurance industry presents a moral hazard problem
September 28, 2001 Slate.com, Flying pork barrels
The benefits of taking on risk are higher-than-average returns, but there are no risks if airlines are bailed out.
September 1, 2001 Fast Company, What is the New Economics?
Discussion of Shiller's work in behavioral finance
February 11, 2001 New York Times Magazine, Exuberance is rational
Discusses Thaler's criticism of rationality and how behavioral game theory helps in financial markets.
July 24, 2000 Global Economic Forum, Global: Coming to Grips with Moral Hazard
Examines the inherent moral hazard created by bail-outs of international financial markets.
January 29, 1999 Commonweal, Who's driving: the market's dilemma
Incorrectly describes a stock market bubble as a prisoner's dilemma but does describe the boundedly rational greater fool theory.
October 5, 1998 Time.com, The brightest and the brokest
Moral hazard in the Fed's bailout of Long Term Capital Management
November 24, 1997 The Business Journal (Milwaukee), In match penny stock theory, playing to win is a losing bet
Why beating the S&P is like playing matching pennies
March 29, 1996 Financial Times, On the trail of a good bet
Describes people's attitudes towards very unlikely risks, and the implications for finance, insurance, and government policy. (by John Kay)