Athlete’s dilemma – The Economist
This article presents an interesting discussion about drug usage in sports and it’s relation to concepts of game theory. Usually, game theory analysis of drug usage in sports considers only the competitors point of view, and this may not be an adequate model to describe the situation.
In the simplest analysis, the game is similar to the Prisoner’s Dilemma (in this case the Athlete’s Dilemma): both athletes would benefit if they didn’t used drugs, but since each player must consider the other player’s decision and they can’t trust each other, both end up using drugs to have a chance of winning.
To make the model more realistic the consumers’ point of view (as if it were another player in the game) was introduced in the analysis. The analysis is based on the work by Berno Buechel (University of Hamburg) and his colleagues, and the article discusses how this approach affects the game, the strategies and the players.
Source: http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21581978-sportsmen-who-take-drugs-may-be-prisoners-different-game-athletes-dilemma