Game Theory and the Environment
Environmentalism is a touchy subject in even the most liberal contexts. Nevertheless, it is one that should be
addressed. The question, thus, is not if, but how to do so. Mark Colyvan, the director of the Sydney Centre for the
Foundations of Science at the University of Sydney makes the case for Game theory as a potential antidote to the
environmental pathologies facing the world. Take, for instance, anthropogenic climate change. Clearly, someone must
pay for imposing damage on a public good such as the atmosphere. But who is the culprit?
Colyvan states that Game theory should be a major tool in implementing effective environmental manage and policy. He
uses the example of the stag and the hare to show that a suboptimal outcome is possible and socially probable – much
as was discussed in lecture. He also discusses the free riding problem to show that “…initial cooperation can
easily degenerate into widespread defection.” He then applies these type of ideal games to the problem of
responsibility in environmental management by private entities.
In summary, Game theoretic thinking allows environmental movements to effectively identify the suboptimal and truly
optimal scenarios of environmental management policy in order to preserve biodiversity, build new ecosystems, and
keep existing ones intact. The most poignant example he discusses is the possibility that ivory prices would rise
in the event of a ban on ivory trading, thus accelerating the rate of extinction of elephant species.
He concludes, “We need to put environmental policies in place that guard against such unintended flow-on effects.” It would be interesting to apply some of the analysis tools we’ve learned in class to environmental and sustainability issues in order to determine equilibria, dominant strategies, and more.
Source:
http://theconversation.edu.au/game-theory-and-the-environment-youre-on-to-a-winner-999
– The 10th Doctor