Harsanyi, John C. (1920–2000)

Abstract

John Harsanyi worked to extend the general theoretical framework of economic analysis. He established the modern basis for utilitarian ethics. He developed a general bargaining solution to that included the Nash bargaining solution and the Shapley value as special cases. He became a leading advocate of non-cooperative game theory as the general framework for analysis of social interactions among rational individuals. He developed the tracing procedure to select among multiple equilibria of games. He showed how to interpret mixed-strategy equilibria in game theory. His general model of Bayesian games with incomplete information became a cornerstone of information economics.