Reinhard Selten

Reinhard Selten was born on October 5, 1930, in Breslau, Germany (now Wroclaw, Poland). He was a German economist who made significant contributions to the field of game theory. Selten's work on bounded rationality and his concept of subgame perfect Nash equilibrium were highly influential in economic theory and behavioral economics.

In 1957, Reinhard Selten published an influential paper on oligopoly models. His work delved into the strategic interactions among firms in an oligopoly, utilizing game theory to analyze these competitive behaviors. This publication was one of his early contributions that laid the groundwork for his future research in the area of economic behaviors and predictions.

In 1965, Reinhard Selten developed the concept of subgame perfect Nash equilibrium, refining the Nash equilibrium concept by adding temporal structure to the analysis. This provided a method to rule out non-credible threats in sequential games, enhancing the predictive power of the Nash equilibrium by ensuring strategy credibility at every stage of the game.

Selten published a significant paper in 1968 in the International Journal of Game Theory, which further elaborated on his earlier work dealing with game dynamics and strategy formulation. This work highlighted the importance of game strategies that are stable against deviations and played a critical role in establishing game theory as a pivotal tool in economic analysis.

In 1978, Reinhard Selten published one of his notable works in experimental economics, merging theoretical models with experimental data to test the validity of game theoretic predictions. His work pioneered methods that bridged economic theories with behavioral experiments, broadening the applicability and understanding of economic models in real-world situations.

In 1984, Selten contributed significantly to the development of the Perfect Bayesian Equilibrium concept, providing clarity and further refinement to the analysis of information in games. This work addressed issues of belief and learning in games with incomplete information, and it became a crucial part of the toolkit for economists analyzing strategic interactions involving uncertainty.

Reinhard Selten was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1994, along with John Harsanyi and John Nash, for their pioneering analysis of equilibria in the theory of non-cooperative games. Selten's contribution to game theory, especially his refinement of Nash's concepts and the development of subgame perfection, was monumental in the field's development.

In 2001, Reinhard Selten was elected as a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. His election was a testament to his profound influence on economic theory and his contributions to advancing the field of game theory. He joined an elite group of the world's most accomplished intellectuals recognized for their outstanding achievements.

In 2009, Reinhard Selten co-founded the BonnEconLab, one of the foremost experimental economics research facilities. Through this initiative, Selten advocated for the integration of experimental methods in economics, allowing for direct observation of economic behaviors in controlled settings and providing vital insights into the accuracy of various economic theories.

Reinhard Selten passed away on August 23, 2016, in Poznań, Poland. His death marked the loss of a pioneering economist who advanced the understanding of strategic interaction in economics through his robust refinements of game theory. Selten's legacy lives on through his vast contributions to the field, impacting both theoretical and applied economic research.