Undergraduate Course: Strategic Decision-Making: Game Theory and the Law (LAWS10273)
Course Outline
| School | School of Law |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course delves into the application of game theory within legal and quasi-legal frameworks, offering strategic insights for legal decision-making and policy analysis. Emphasising the interplay between these and strategic behaviour, it equips students with analytical tools to navigate complex legal scenarios, with no advanced math required. The course blends theoretical rigor with practical applications, making strategic legal reasoning accessible to a wide range of students. |
| Course description |
"Strategic Decision Making: Game Theory and the Law" is an interdisciplinary honours-level course designed to explore the intricate relationship between legal decision-making and strategic behaviour through the lens of game theory. This course provides a comprehensive understanding of how game theory principles are applied to legal issues, from contract disputes to regulatory compliance and enforcement strategies. Students will engage with both classical and more contemporary game theoretic models and concepts, including Nash equilibrium, signalling, and evolutionary game theory, to understand and predict the outcomes of legal and quasi-legal interactions.
The course content spans a wide range of topics, starting with foundational concepts of strategic behaviour and extending to complex scenarios such as litigation strategy, collective action problems, and the dynamics of negotiation and bargaining in legal contexts. Each week, seminars pair with specific chapters from the accompanying textbook to offer a learning experience that blends academic analysis with practical problem-solving exercises. Students will critically engage with game-theoretic concepts, applying them to analyse real-world legal dilemmas.
The course is designed to cultivate a nuanced understanding of strategic decision-making within the legal framework and from a game-theoretical perspective, enhancing students' analytical skills and preparing them for complex legal reasoning in professional practice.
No advanced mathematical background is required, as the course focuses on conceptual understanding and practical applications of game theory in legal contexts. This makes the course accessible to students from a variety of disciplines, including law and political science, who are interested in the strategic dimensions of legal theory and practice.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Subject to Course Organiser approval |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2024/25, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 20,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
176 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Semester Project (40%)«br /»
Presentation of Semester Projects and Feedback on other students' presentations (30%)«br /»
In-Class Tests (30%) |
| Feedback |
Students will engage in formative assessment through preparation and presentation of academic articles relevant to the course's weekly themes, either individually or in groups. This task will mirror the summative presentation assessment's structure, promoting familiarity with the analysis and presentation process. Peers will provide feedback on these presentations, enhancing critical engagement with the material. This formative approach is integrated into class discussions, allowing for real-time, constructive feedback that supports all students, including those with special needs, by offering flexible presentation formats.
These presentations should run through most of the seminars (outside of the first two and last seminar), and the exact length will depend on student numbers, but it is anticipated they should be about 5 minutes each.
The major (though not only) difference between the formative assessments integrated into the seminars and the summative assessment in the form of the semester project is that in former students will be analysing problems, models or solutions prepared by others (typically in academic articles), while in the latter they will have to identify a problem and seek to create a game theory model and apply it to the model themselves.
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| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Identify, synthesize, and apply selected key concepts in law and economics, along with detailed knowledge of game theoretic principles, to analyse legal scenarios and decision-making processes.
- Demonstrate intellectual and creative skills to identify decision-making situations suitable for game theory analysis, and generate reasoned, practical, and appropriate applications of predictive analysis.
- Observe and critically evaluate instances where strategic considerations impact litigation strategies and judicial decision-making processes.
- Conduct research into game-theoretic concepts, employing appropriate principles and methodologies to explore and analyse intricate legal scenarios.
- Communicate effectively and persuasively their understanding of research findings, demonstrating clarity, coherence, and depth in presenting insights derived from game theory analysis within legal contexts.
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Reading List
Textbook: Game Theory and the Law, by Douglas Baird, Robert Gartner, and Randal Picker (Harvard University Press, 1994)
This foundational textbook will serve as the primary resource, covering the key concepts discussed throughout the course. Each chapter corresponds to a week in the course outline, providing students with theoretical frameworks and applied examples of game theory in legal settings.
Due to the age of the textbook, the materials will be supplemented and updated with academic articles and case studies. Selected academic articles will provide detailed analyses of specific game theory models applied to legal issues, enhancing the textbook readings. Specific titles will be selected based on the most current and relevant research in the field.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Creative Problem Solvers and Researchers: The course's integration of game theory into legal analysis encourages innovative approaches to solving legal disputes and strategic decision-making, fostering creativity in navigating legal complexities.
Critical and Reflective Thinkers: By examining various game theory models and their application to legal scenarios, students are prompted to critically assess and reflect upon strategic choices and their implications, enhancing their ability to think deeply about complex legal issues.
Effective and Influential Contributors: Through active participation in seminars and workshops, including presenting their analysis and engaging in discussions, students will develop the capacity to influence thought and practice in legal contexts with well-reasoned arguments and strategic insights.
Skilled Communicators: The course requires students to articulate their understanding of game theory and its application to legal problems, both in written assignments and oral presentations, thus honing their ability to communicate complex ideas effectively.
Personal and Intellectual Autonomy: Encouraging students to undertake independent research on game theory applications in law and to develop their analyses of legal strategies promotes intellectual independence and a proactive approach to learning. |
| Keywords | Game theory,strategy,decision making,interdisciplinary |
Contacts
| Course organiser | |
Course secretary | Mr Ryan McGuire
Tel: (0131 6)50 2386
Email: Ryan.Mcguire@ed.ac.uk |
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