Work backwards from the outcome you want to the rules under which self-interested participants will produce it.
Hurwicz's field, sometimes called reverse game theory. Spectrum auctions, kidney exchange and school-matching systems are all built this way, and all three won Nobel prizes.
In practice
- A spectrum auction is designed so that truthful bidding is the bidder's best strategy, and the revenue follows from the design.
- A kidney exchange is built so that hospitals gain by entering their hardest cases rather than withholding them.
- Further reading
- Wikipedia
- Subject
- Games & Strategic Interaction
- Essay
- The recurring shapes of conflict and cooperation