Mechanism design is a field in
economics and
game theory that takes an
engineering approach to designing economic mechanisms or
incentives, toward desired objectives, in
strategic settings, where players act
rationally. Because it starts at the end of the game, then goes backwards, it is also called
reverse game theory. It has broad applications, from economics and politics (markets, auctions, voting procedures) to networked-systems (internet interdomain routing, sponsored search auctions).