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Showing posts with the label dominant strategy

Decision Making as Output and Bounded Rationality

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  The classical economics theories proceed on the assumption of rational agents. Rationality implies the economic agents undertake actions or exercise choices based on the cost-benefit analysis they undertake. The assumption further posits that there exists no information asymmetry and thus the agent is aware of all the costs and benefits associated with the choice he or she has exercised. The behavioral school contested the decision stating the decisions in practice are often irrational. Implied there is a continuous departure from rationality. Rationality in the views of the behavioral school is more an exception to the norm rather a rule. The past posts have discussed the limitations of this view by the behavioral school. Economics has often posited rationality in the context in which the choices are exercised rather than theoretical abstract view of rational action. Rational action in theory seems to be grounded in zero restraint situation yet in practice, there are numerous restra
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Mathematics, Tharoorisms and Prisoner's Dilemma

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  A few days before, came across an interesting tweet. This tweet is available here . The tweet links to an article that talks about jargons and their usage in everyday life. The author in the article points out that research indicates, the use of jargons at every second instant reflects a case of insecurity and not academic learning or competence.   Therefore, one would wonder, why people resort to jargons and high sounding words at the drop of the hat. Of course, people like Shashi Tharoor or Manish Tiwari seemed to master that. Therefore, it would be pertinent to decode the logic behind using Tharoorisms so as to speak in the everyday life. If one goes further, there is a tendency among the social scientists to increasingly resort to mathematical formalism of late. Interestingly, the mathematical formalism only makes the concept more complex than demystifying it. Unless the goal is to make the concepts or language complex, there seems to be no reason why one should use it. Yet peopl
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Economic Logic of the Silent and the Shy Voter

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  In politics and elections, there is often a talk about the presence of a silent voter or a shy voter. There is a belief that these voters generally remain silent about their preferences, do not voice any opinion on the same and cast their votes silently for their candidate. These silent votes if large in number can affect the forecasts of the pollsters. This is because of the silent or the shy voter refusing to participate or reveal their choice to the pollsters. Very few pollsters might be in a position to capture their choices.   It is usually believed that these voters belong to the subaltern classes or castes or those groups who are usually outside the power circles. They fear reprisals if their other caste or class groups learn about their choices. It is a different matter that an idea could be obtained on their voting preferences post the election results but that is another story. In India, it is usually believed that the voters of parties such as BSP do not reveal their c
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Urdu and Anti-Establishmentarians: Dominant Strategy?

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Anti-establishmentarian rhetoric in India habitually conjures Urdu imagery and artistry. The same can be conceivably ascribed to the fact the rhetoric is an amalgamation of Islamic revivalism in attempts to reclaim its socio-political veto, Marxism ceaselessly in quest of a villain (Modi-Shah as new bourgeoisie) subduing the proletariat (Islam) and Nehruvian posterities unable to come to terms with the loss of power and privileges associated thereof and amplified by the Indian media cacophony. As I cited in Why Elitism Flourishes? http://stalkingtheory.blogspot.com/2019/12/why-elitism-flourishes.html , clubs once formed are protectionist but barriers to entry are formidable with connections not merit defining the benchmarks for admission. Foot soldiers desire to enter upper layers of the elite pyramid and therefore thus a need on their part to demonstrate their eligibility. Implied is using certain signals in conveying their utility to the apex. The competition however is harsh
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