Chapter 52 Economic history and game theory

This paper surveys the small, yet growing, literature that uses game theory for economic history analysis. It elaborates on the promise and challenge of applying game theory to economic history and presents the approaches taken in conducting such an application. Most of the essay, however, is devoted to studies in economic history that use game theory as their main analytical framework. Studies are presented in a way that highlights the range of potential topics in economic history that can be and have been enriched by a game-theoretical analysis.