Composing Games into Complex Institutions - Game Theory Applications in Institutional Design

Watch a 53-minute lecture from the IPAM's Modeling Multi-Scale Collective Intelligences Workshop where Joshua Tan from the University of Oxford explores how game theory can be applied to model and design complex social institutions. Discover how game theory has evolved beyond its traditional applications in economics to become a powerful tool for describing and designing realistic social institutions. Learn about the "action situation" framework introduced by Elinor Ostrom and explore how compositional game theory can be applied across various fields including auction theory, sustainability science, institutional economics, contract law, and smart contract engineering. Examine the practical applications of categorical ideas in institutional modeling and design, while understanding current tooling limitations for more scalable institutional design applications. Gain insights into how systems of linked games can represent complex institutions and understand the importance of modularity and abstraction principles in institutional modeling.