Game Theory

commentary

Is Putin Irrational? What Nuclear Strategic Theory Says About Deterrence of Potentially Irrational Opponents

Increasingly isolated and desperate, Putin might try to suddenly escalate the Ukraine conflict rather than back down in the face of international opposition. The United States and its allies must account for the possibility that even in the face of credible deterrent threats Putin might double down and lash out.

Edward Geist @sovietologist

commentary

Developing a Winning Safety Strategy for Automated Vehicles

When policy problems involve many different groups with diverging interests along with significant uncertainty about the future, games can be a valuable way to explore the potential consequences of important policy decisions. What could gaming bring to the area of AV safety?

Laura Fraade-Blanar, Brian A. Jackson

blog

Insights on Afghanistan, Back to School, North Korea: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on the collapse in Afghanistan, what parents think about sending kids back to school, insights from game theory on North Korean denuclearization, and more.

blog

Game Theory to Help the Vaccine Rollout, Abraham Accords, Telehealth: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on how game theory can help the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, potential economic benefits of the Abraham Accords, telemedicine use during the pandemic, and more.

commentary

How Game Theory Could Solve the COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout Puzzle

The health systems behind the vaccine rollout are attempting to create order from chaos, sometimes with mixed results. Rather than relying on on-the-fly decisionmaking, state authorities should consider turning to game theory as a tool that could be the key to more efficient, faster vaccine distribution.

Luke Muggy

commentary

Adding Shots on Target: Wargaming Beyond the Game

Figuring out what the future may look like—and what concepts and technology we should invest in now to prepare—is hard. How can the wargaming community build a cycle of research to help understand what these paths might be?

Elizabeth M. Bartels @elliebartels

commentary

How Can Gaming Help Test Your Theory?

The act of designing a game will force you to articulate your theory or to be more specific about it. It will also require you to operationalize your variables and theoretical constructs of interest into a specific context, and prompt you to anticipate the ways in which it may play out in that scenario.

Yuna Huh Wong

blog

Test Your RAND Knowledge on Jeopardy!

RAND was once a category on the long-running TV game show Jeopardy! How much money could you have won? Take the quiz and find out.

announcement

RAND's Lloyd Shapley Wins Nobel Prize in Economics

Lloyd S. Shapley, a longtime RAND researcher who is now an emeritus professor at UCLA, has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics jointly with Alvin E. Roth for his work on game theory.