Evolutionary Game Theory: Fundamentals and Applications for Epidemiology

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter presents the mathematical fundamentals of evolutionary game theory. Game theory provides the mathematical foundation for quantifying human decision-making for choosing strategies. There are several varieties of “games” in game theory, including zero-sum (constant-sum) games (in which one is either a winner or a loser) or non-zero-sum (non-constant-sum) games; symmetric games (in which both the focal player and their opponent share a common payoff structure) or asymmetric games; 2-player games or a multi-player game; 2-strategy games or multi-strategy games; and so forth. In any case, classical game theory primarily concerns game equilibrium, or game solutions, which can be understood as steady-state solutions or static solutions in the field of conventional science and engineering. Conversely, evolutionary game theory rather concerns the time-evolution of a system.