Game Theory Research Set to Expand in St. Petersburg
Research on game theory has a strong history in Russia, and this year’s opening of the new HSE International Laboratory for Game Theory and Decision-Making in St. Petersburg will only help it grow stronger. Leading the laboratory, which will include researchers from the St. Petersburg Institute for Economics and Mathematics, will be Herve Moulin, Donald J. Robertson Chair of Economics at the Adam Smith Business School at the University of Glasgow. Prof. Moulin is a scholar who is known for his research contributions in mathematical economics, in particular in the fields of mechanism design, social choice, game theory and fair division.
Professor Moulin recently agreed to speak with the HSE news service about his decision to join the new laboratory and his plans going forward.
— Welcome to HSE! What triggered you to become the academic supervisor of the new International Laboratory for Game Theory and Decision-Making at HSE St. Petersburg?
— I have been connected to the game theory community in Russia since the early 1980s, first in Moscow, and then later in St. Petersburg with a team run by Profs. Vorobev and Bondareva. This later became the Institute of Mathematical Economics of the Academy of Sciences, which I have visited regularly in the last 16 years or so. I also have family connections here in St. Petersburg through my wife Anna Bogomolnaia.
— What are the goals for the new laboratory?
— Our goal is to take advantage of the strong research capital in game theory in various institutions across Russia and the appeal of St. Petersburg to visitors. We want to create a focal point for theoretical and interdisciplinary research in game theory and its applications.
— How are you planning to start your new mission?
— We will begin with a series of lectures on fair division and a research seminar in October that will be open to all researchers. Our researchers will also work closely with the International Laboratory of Decision Choice and Analysis, which operates in Moscow.
— What difficulties and advantages do you see in the work of this new research body?
— The advantage is that HSE is an ideal environment to create a centre devoted exclusively to game theory and its applications to the broader agenda of economic research. A difficulty is that we are starting with relatively limited resources. That said, we are planning to supplement them by grants and other outside funds, which is common in contemporary academic research.
Anna Chernyakhovskaya, specially for HSE News service
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