Stra­tegic Think­ing in Eco­nom­ics and Or­gan­isa­tions

Course content

The course uses economic and game theoretic tools to introduce business and social science students to the the analysis of strategic situaitons in organizations. By developing general principles for thinking about strategy, the lessons of the course can be applied across a wide spectrum of problems where incentives in organizations matter. Examples include conflict resolution, the design of compensation schemes, counter-terrorism, regulation and tax compliance, and other strategic decision making problems.

The course starts by exploring normative foundations: Social Choice theory, Paretian and utilitarian theories about goals as well as their limitations. It then introduces game theoretic models of externalities, coordination problems, and commitment problems to uncover opportunities for policy to improve outcomes. It then studies how policies creates technological and incentive constraints that shape outcomes. Throughout, concepts and models are illustrated and reinforced with discussions of empirical evidence and case studies.