PPE 3001-402/ECON 0120-402 Strategic Reasoning

(Spring 2026)

Course Information

Course Description

This course is about strategically interdependent decisions. In such situations, the outcome of your actions depends also on the actions of others. When making your choice, you have to think what the others will choose, who in turn are thinking what you will be choosing, and so on. Game Theory offers several concepts and insights for understanding such situations, and for making better strategic choices. This course will introduce and develop some basic ideas from game theory, using illustrations, applications, and cases drawn from business, economics, politics, sports, and even fiction and movies. Some interactive games will be played in class. There will be little formal theory, and the only pre-requisites are some high-school algebra and having taken Econ 1. However, general numeracy (facility interpreting and doing numerical graphs, tables, and arithmetic calculations) is very important. This course will also be accepted by the Economics department as an Econ course, to be counted toward the minor in Economics (or as an Econ elective).

Required Textbooks

  • McCain, Roger A. 2023. Game Theory: A Nontechnical Introduction to the Analysis of Strategy. 4th edition. New Jersey: World Scientific.

Course Requirements and Grading

Your grade will be based on the following components: Quizzes (50%), the Midterm Exam (25%), and the Final Exam (25%). In addition, participation in in-class group exercises can qualify you to drop your lowest quiz grade. Below is a brief description of each requirement:

  • Quizzes (50%): We will have four to six quizzes throughout the semester. All quizzes will be held in person, in class, and on paper. They are closed book. Quiz dates will be announced at least one week in advance. If you meet the participation requirement for in-class group exercises described below, your lowest quiz grade will be dropped. Otherwise, your quiz grade will be the average of all quizzes.

  • Midterm Exam (25%) and Final Exam (25%): Both exams will be held in person, in class, and on paper. They are closed book. The final exam will take place at the time assigned by the university and will be cumulative, covering material from the entire semester.

  • Participation in in-class group exercises (optional): Game theory is a mathematical tool for studying interactive decisions. As the ancient Greek mathematician Euclid (allegedly) said, “There is no royal road to geometry,” and the same applies to game theory. To help you practice, we will have in-class group exercise sessions.

    • Participation is not required, but if you participate in all class meetings except for two, your lowest quiz grade will be dropped. To qualify for dropping the lowest quiz grade, you must participate in all classes with at most two absences.
    • I do not distinguish between excused and unexcused absences for this purpose, since participation is optional. Please use your two allowed absences carefully, keeping foreseeable and unforeseeable events in mind.
    • To meet the requirement for dropping the lowest quiz grade, please form a group of three and email your group list to the TA by January 29.
    • When forming groups, consider working with classmates who have different strengths. The goal of group practice is to help one another understand the material; diverse strengths can help your group handle different challenges effectively.
    • Each group will be required to share and explain its answers publicly in class. Whether the answers are correct will not affect your grade.

There will be no extra credit opportunities, and grades will not be curved.

Grading Scale

93+ A 77-79 C+ 60-63 D-
90-92 A- 74-76 C 0-59 F
87-89 B+ 70-73 C-
84-86 B 67-69 D+
80-83 B- 64-66 D

Course Outline

We will cover the following topics during the semester. You can find all readings, except for McCain’s textbook, on Canvas:

  • Topic 1: What Is Game Theory?
    • Required reading: McCain, Chapter 1
  • Topic 2: Foundations
    • Required reading: McCain, Chapter 2
  • Topic 3: Dominant Strategies in Simultaneous-Move Games and Their Applications
    • Required reading: McCain, Chapter 3
  • Topic 4: Pure Nash Equilibrium in Simultaneous-Move Games and Their Applications
    • Required reading: McCain, Chapters 4–6
    • Recommended reading: Poundstone, Chapters 5 and 10
  • Topic 5: Mixed Nash Equilibrium in Simultaneous-Move Games and Their Applications
    • Required reading: McCain, Chapters 7 and 8
  • Topic 6: Sequential Games and Their Applications
    • Required reading: McCain, Chapter 9
    • Recommended reading:
      1. “Chapter 1 Reflections on the Commons.” 1990. In Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action, Political Economy of Institutions and Decisions, Cambridge University Press.
      2. Weingast, Barry R. 1997. “The Political Foundations of Democracy and the Rule of Law.” American Political Science Review 91(2): 245–63. doi:10.2307/2952354.
  • Topic 7: Repeated Games and Their Applications
    • Required reading: McCain, Chapters 10 and 11
    • Recommended reading:
      1. Poundstone, Chapter 12
      2. Guala, Francesco. 2012. “Reciprocity: Weak or Strong? What Punishment Experiments Do (and Do Not) Demonstrate.” Behavioral and Brain Sciences 35(1): 1–15. doi:10.1017/S0140525X11000069.
      3. Fearon, James D., and David D. Laitin. 1996. “Explaining Interethnic Cooperation.” American Political Science Review 90(4): 715–35. doi:10.2307/2945838.
  • Topic 8: Incomplete Information and Perfect Bayesian Equilibrium
    • Required reading: Rasmusen, Chapter 6
  • Topic 9: Behavioral Game Theory (if time permits)

Both required and recommended readings are intended to help you better understand the lectures. However, evaluations will be based on material covered in lectures and class activities. If there is any conflict between lectures and readings, answers should be based on the lectures (and you are encouraged to ask questions about any discrepancies).

Tentative Course Schedule

The instructor reserves the right to make reasonable changes to the syllabus and the class schedule during the semester. Any changes will be announced in class.

  • Week 1 (January 15)
  • Week 2 (January 20 & 22)
  • Week 3 (January 27 & 29)
  • Week 4 (February 3 & 5)
  • Week 5 (February 10 & 12)
  • Week 6 (February 17 & 19)
  • Week 7 (February 24 & 26)
  • Week 8 (March 3 & 5)
  • Week 9 (March 10 & 12): Spring Term Break (No classes)
  • Week 10 (March 17 & 19)
  • Week 11 (March 24 & 26)
  • Week 12 (March 31 & April 2)
  • Week 13 (April 7 & 9)
  • Week 14 (April 14 & 16)
  • Week 15 (April 21 & 23)
  • Week 16 (April 28)

Course Policies

Communication Policy

If you have any questions about the course, feel free to reach out to me or the TA before or after class or by email.

  • For missed quizzes, exams, and other grade-related matters, please email me and cc the TA.
  • For questions about the course or course materials, you may email either me or the TA.

When emailing me or the TA, please include “PPE 3001-402” in the subject line and your full name in the body of the email. We will respond within two business days. If you do not receive a response within that time frame, please follow up.

Please do not comment on or reply to your grades on Canvas or contact me or the TA through Canvas messages. I do not regularly read comments or messages sent through Canvas.

Office Hours

If you have questions about the course, feel free to stop by during office hours (either mine or the TA’s) or email me to schedule an appointment if the designated time does not work for you. Please come prepared with specific questions that arise during class or while reviewing the slides.

We welcome all questions about the material—our role is to help you understand the theories covered in this course. However, you are expected to review the slides and make a genuine effort to understand the material first, as true understanding comes from engaging with it yourself. You are also encouraged to discuss questions with your peers before coming to office hours.

Please note that office hours are not a substitute for missed classes or for general review sessions without specific questions. If you miss a class, you are responsible for obtaining notes and any announcements from classmates to catch up on the material.

Attendance

If you miss a class, you are responsible for obtaining notes and any announcements from classmates to catch up on missed material. To qualify to have your lowest quiz grade dropped, you must participate in all class meetings except for two (see Course Requirements and Grading above).

You are required to attend all quizzes and exams in person and on time. Make-up quizzes and exams will be offered only in cases of illness, a death in the family, religious observance, or other unusual circumstances (see the Missed Quizzes and Exams policy below).

Missed Quizzes and Exams

Make-up quizzes and exams will be offered only in cases of illness, a death in the family, religious observance, or other unusual circumstances. Accommodations will be considered on a case-by-case basis, and you may be required to provide documentation of these circumstances. If you anticipate missing a quiz or exam, you must discuss the need for accommodation with me at least one week in advance. Otherwise, accommodations will not be made except in emergencies. In the case of an emergency, please contact me as soon as possible and be prepared to provide documentation of the emergency.

If you need to reach out about missed quizzes or exams, please speak with me or email me directly. A Course Absence Notice does not count as communication.

Academic Integrity

Make sure you are familiar with Penn’s Code of Academic Integrity https://catalog.upenn.edu/pennbook/code-of-academic-integrity/. I have a zero tolerance policy for plagiarism and cheating, and all violations will result in substantial penalties. If you have questions about academic misconduct and plagiarism, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Use of AI

You can use generative AIs as a personal learning assistant, but keep in mind that if you rely on AIs for everything without digesting and evaluating their responses with your own knowledge, you are not truly learning. While generative AIs can answer questions, they may struggle with complex questions that are not within their training sets. Furthermore, the AI’s understanding may differ from my expectations in this class.

For open-book assignments, using AIs to proofread your drafts is an appropriate use. However, for closed-book quizzes and exams, using AIs will be considered a violation of Penn’s Code of Academic Integrity.

Resources

Academic Support and Disability Services

The Weingarten Center offers a variety of resources to support all Penn students in reaching their academic goals. All services are free and confidential. To contact the Weingarten Center, call 215-573-9235. The office is located in Stouffer Commons, 3702 Spruce Street, Suite 300.

Academic Support

Learning consultations and learning strategies workshops support students in developing more efficient and effective study skills and learning strategies. Learning specialists work with undergraduate, graduate, and professional students to address time and project management, academic reading and writing, note-taking, problem-solving, exam preparation, test-taking, self-regulation, and flexibility.

Undergraduates can also take advantage of free on-campus tutoring for many Penn courses in both drop-in and weekly contract formats. Tutoring may be individual or in small groups. Tutors will assist with applying course information, understanding key concepts, and developing course-specific strategies. Tutoring support is available throughout the term but is best accessed early in the semester.

Disability Services

The University of Pennsylvania is committed to the accessibility of its programs and services. Students with a disability or medical condition can request reasonable accommodations through the Weingarten Center website. Disability Services determines accommodations on an individualized basis through an interactive process, including a meeting with the student and a review of their disability documentation. Students who have approved accommodations are encouraged to notify their faculty members and share their accommodation letters at the start of each semester. Students can contact Disability Services by calling 215-573-9235.

Penn Wellness Resources

You can find a number of different health resources from Wellness at Penn (https://wellness.upenn.edu/).

SHAC (Student Health and Counseling)

SHAC (Student Health and Counseling) https://wellness.upenn.edu/student-health-and-counseling

  • For Medical Services students can go to 3535 Market Street, 1st Floor. They are open M-F 9:00-4:30 and Saturday 9:00-11:30. For after-hours help call 215-746-3535 (24/7). If the issue is life threatening, call 911.
  • For Counseling Services students can go to 3624 Market Street, 1st Floor West or call 215-898-7021. You or your students can call this number 24/7 and a clinician will answer. Counseling Services offers free, confidential mental health services to all students at Penn.

If You Have Financial Difficulties

It is important to me that you have the resources you need to be able to focus on learning in this course – this includes both the necessary academic materials as well as taking care of your day-to-day needs.

Students experiencing difficulty affording the course materials should reach out to the Penn First Plus office (pennfirstplus@upenn.edu).

Students who are struggling to afford sufficient food to eat every day and/or lack a safe and suitable space to live should contact Student Intervention Services (vpul-sisteam@pobox.upenn.edu).

Students may also wish to contact their Financial Aid Counselor or Academic Advisor about these concerns.

You are welcome to notify me if any of these challenges are affecting your success in this course, as long as you are comfortable doing so – I may have resources to support you.

Other Resources

Disclaimer

I reserve the right to change the syllabus at any time.