Concept

Non-cooperative game theory

Summary
A non-cooperative game is a form of game under the topic of game theory. Non-cooperative games are used in situations where there are competition between the players of the game. In this model, there are no external rules that enforces the cooperation of the players therefore it is typically used to model a competitive environment. This is stated in various accounts most prominent being John Nash's paper. That being said, there are many arguments to be made regarding this point as with decades of research, it is shown that non-cooperative game models can be used to show cooperation as well and vice versa for cooperative game model being used to show competition. Some examples of this would be the usage of non-cooperative model in determining the stability and sustainability of cartels and coalitions. Non zero-sum games and zero-sum games are both types of non-cooperative games. Referring to the above mentioned John Nash's 1951 article in the journal Annals of Mathematics. Nash Equilibrium, non-cooperative game theory in fact, are often referred to as "non-cooperative equilibrium". According to Tamer Başar in Lecture Notes on Non-Cooperative Game Theory, a non-cooperative game requires specifying: the number of players; the possible actions available to each player, and any constraints that may be imposed on them; the objective function of each player which he or she attempts to optimise; any time ordering of the execution of the actions if the players are allowed to act more than once; any information acquisition that takes place and how the information available to a player at each point in time depends on the past actions of other players, and; whether there is a player (nature) whose action is the outcome of a probabilistic event with a fixed (known) distribution. The utility of each player for all action profile. Perfect recall: each player remembers their decisions and known information. Self-interest: each player does not consider the effect of actions on the others but only on their own.
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