Behavioral Game Theory

Depending on where you live the Sony PlayStation4 is either available or will be soon. Microsoft's Xbox One will follow shortly. Reviewers argue over which is best in terms of graphics, controller and the like, but the general consensus seems to be that they are pretty similar. They are not, however, similar in price! The PlayStation4 is around $100 cheaper than the Xbox. Of course, making like for like comparisons on price is difficult because Microsoft are offering things Sony are not and vice-versa. But, even so it is interesting to explore why Sony might want to come in with a lower price.       Let's start by supposing Sony has a monopoly - they are the only games console maker. Sony has to set a price to sell the console and a price to sell games. In the parlance of micro theory this is a two part tariff where the console is a fixed cost and the games are a user cost. To make the most money Sony should set the price of games equal to marginal cost...

A report published last week by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (Wrap) showed that British families are throwing away around £60 worth a food a month. This report comes hot on the heels of figures from supermarket giant Tesco showing it generated almost 30,000 tonnes of food waste in the first six months of the year. Apparently 68% of bagged salad ends up in the bin, and 20% of bananas. Clearly, this does not look like an efficient outcome. Which raises questions about why it happens and how we can stop it.       To most the answers seems obvious - consumers are making biased choices and need help to stop doing so. For example, food journalist Joanna Blytham is quoted as saying consumers are being 'ripped off' by supermarket promotions: "What we could say to consumers is 'wise up' ..... The minute you walk into the supermarket you may be able to get a few bargains but, more likely than not, you'll be nudged into buying stuff you didn't really...

The median voter theorem is a workhorse of public choice and helps make sense of political manoeuvrings. Informally, the theorem says that if preferences are single peaked then the median voter will be on the winnings side of any majority vote. To say that preferences are single peaked essentially means that the vote is on a 'one dimensional issue' whereby that the closer is the outcome to a person's ideal then the happier they are. This naturally lends itself to talking of left wing, right wing and the centre ground. The median voter is then the person in the middle. And that is why the median voter will always be on the winning side: If the median voter prefers the 'left wing' option then the median voter and everyone to the left will vote for that option and it has a majority. Similarly, If the median voter prefers the 'right wing' option then the median voter and everyone to the right will vote for that option and it has a majority.   ...