Strategic Reasoning – University of Pennsylvania
Summer class, University of Pennsylvania, 2025
Strategic Reasoning (ECON 0120 / PPE 3001) introduces students to the fundamentals of game theory and strategic decision-making. The course emphasizes intuitive understanding and practical applications, rather than formal proofs, and draws examples from business, economics, politics, and sports. This class is part of the PPE and Economics undergraduate curriculum at Penn and is open to students with basic algebra and strong numeracy skills.
Topics include sequential and simultaneous-move games, Nash equilibrium (discrete and continuous choices), mixed strategies, risk and asymmetric information, repeated games and the Prisoner’s Dilemma, and collective action problems.
The primary reference for this class is Games of Strategy by Dixit, Skeath, and McAdams.
Material: