Game theory, social choice and markets

Head

Philippe Solal

Presentation

This group develops research on theoretical and applied microeconomics. It mainly pursues four scientific objectives.

First, an important line of research is normative economics. The objective is to build new solutions or to study existing solutions for collective decision problems in very general environments (cooperative games with combinatorial structures, situations of social choice, effectivity). The justification of the solutions is based on value judgments that are first discussed and then translated by general principles to finally find a mathematical formulation using axioms or properties. The analysis focuses on the possibility of combining value judgments with different principles. In other words, we analyze the compatibility and conflictuality of value judgments. The scientific process is axiomatic.
The second scientific objective is to apply or adapt these solutions to particular environments. The applications relate to the allocation of resources, aggregation of preferences, monetary compensation mechanisms, price setting and the stability of agreements. The members of the axis work on various issues in health economics, innovation economics and R&D, and competition policy. The scientific approach is theoretical since it involves modeling an economic problem and solving it using known or axiomatically justified solution concepts.
The third scientific objective is to provide an intellectual foundation for the principles of equity or social justice that are used for problems of allocation or redistribution. This approach is based on economic philosophy and the history of economic ideas. The purpose is to discuss the implications of certain concepts and to seek their intellectual origin in scientific thought.
The fourth scientific objective is empirical. It involves testing relationships between economic quantities or experimentally studying the behavior of agents in certain environments.