040016 UK Bargaining and Coalition Formation: Theory and Experiments (BA) (2016W)

Bargaining governs the size and distribution of surplus in a number of economic environments, for example wage negotiations and trading in many markets. When bargaining takes place with more than two actors, such as in multilateral trade or international climate change agreements, coalitions typically form and are crucial in determining outcomes. Bargaining and coalition formation also take place in a variety of other political and social contexts, and the ubiquity of these processes make them an important area of study.

This course will present the main theoretical models of bargaining and coalition formation, as well as some of the key results from experimental studies. A basic knowledge of game theory will be assumed.