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Nash, John Forbes (1928–2015)

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Abstract

Nash originated general non-cooperative game theory in seminal articles in the early 1950s by formally distinguishing between non-cooperative and cooperative models and by developing the concept of equilibrium for non-cooperative games. Nash developed the first bargaining solution characterized by axioms, pioneered methods and criteria for relating cooperative-theory solution concepts and non-cooperative games, and also made fundamental contributions in mathematics. Nash was the 1994 recipient of the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, jointly with John C. Harsanyi and Reinhard Selten.

This chapter was originally published in The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd edition, 2008. Edited by Steven N. Durlauf and Lawrence E. Blume

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Bibliography

  • Items indicated with an asterisk provide good further background reading on John F. Nash, Jr. Also, the Scandinavian Journal of Economics, 97(1) (1995), contains articles on John Nash and his co-Nobel Prize recipients, John C. Harsanyi and Reinhard Selten. For a complete list of Nash’s publications, including his papers in pure mathematics, see Milnor (1998).

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  • Crawford, V.P. 2002. John Nash and the analysis of strategic behavior. Economics Letters 75: 377–382.

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  • Kalisch, C., J. Milnor, J. Nash, and E. Nering. 1954. Some experimental n-person games. In Decision processes, ed. R.M. Thrall, C.H. Coombs, and R.L. Davis. New York: Wiley.

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  • Maynard Smith, J. 1984. Evolution and the theory of games. New York: Cambridge University Press.

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  • *Milnor, J. 1998. John Nash and ‘a beautiful mind’. Notices of the American Mathematical Society 45: 1329–1332.

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  • Myerson, R.B. 1999. Nash equilibrium and the history of economic theory. Journal of Economic Literature 37: 1067–1082.

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  • Nash Jr., J.F. 1950b. Non-cooperative games. Doctoral dissertation, Princeton University.

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  • Nash, J.F., Jr. 1951. Non-cooperative games. Annals of Mathematics 54: 286–295.

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  • Nash, J.F., Jr. 1953. Two-person cooperative games. Econometrica 21: 128–140.

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  • *Nash Jr., J.F. 1995. Autobiography. In Les Prix Nobel. The Nobel Prizes 1994, ed. Frängsmyr, T. Stockholm: Nobel Foundation. Online. Available at http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/economics/laureates/1994/nash-autobio.html. Accessed 29 Nov 2006.

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Further Reading

  • Hammerstein, P., et al. 1996. The work of John Nash in game theory: Nobel seminar, December 8, 1994. Journal of Economic Theory 69: 153–185.

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  • Mayberry, J.P., J.F. Nash, and M. Shubik. 1953. A comparison of treatments of a duopoly situation. Econometrica 21: 141–154.

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  • *Milnor, J. 1995. A Nobel Prize for John Nash. The Mathematical Intelligencer 17: 11–17.

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  • Nash, J.F., Jr. 1950a. Equilibrium points in n-person games. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 36: 48–49.

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Acknowledgments

The author thanks Vincent Crawford, Joel Sobel and Martin Dufwenberg for comments on a preliminary draft.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of California, San Diego, CA, USA

    Joel Watson

Authors
  1. Joel Watson
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Correspondence to Joel Watson .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Economics, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, USA

    Matias Vernengo

  2. Economic Development Division, Economic Commission for Latin America an, Santiago, RM - Santiago, Chile

    Esteban Perez Caldentey

  3. James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA, USA

    Barkley J. Rosser Jr

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Watson, J. (2021). Nash, John Forbes (1928–2015). In: Vernengo, M., Caldentey, E.P., Rosser Jr, B.J. (eds) The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_1957-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_1957-2

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  • Print ISBN: 978-1-349-95121-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-349-95121-5

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Nash, John Forbes (1928–2015)
    Published:
    16 March 2021

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_1957-2

  2. Original

    Nash, John Forbes (Born 1928)
    Published:
    05 December 2016

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_1957-1

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