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The Evolution of Strong Reciprocity
Economics Department Working Paper Series
  • Samuel Bowles, University of Massachusetts - Amherst
  • Herbert Gintis, University of Massachusetts - Amherst
Working Paper Number
2000-5
Publication Date
2000
Abstract

A number of outstanding puzzles in economics may be resolved by recognizing that where members of a group benefit from mutual adherence to a social norm, agents may obey the norm and punish its violators, even when this behavior cannot be motivated by self-regarding, outcome-oriented preferences. This behavior, which we call strong reciprocity, is a form of altruism in that it benefits others at the expense of the individual exhibiting it. While economists have doubted the evolutionary viability of altruistic preferences, we show that strong reciprocity can invade a population of non-reciprocators and can be sustained in a stable population equilibrium. Under assumptions that may reflect the relevant historical conditions, the model describes the genetic evolution of strong reciprocity as a component in the repertoire of human preferences.

Disciplines
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7275/1072044
Citation Information
Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis. "The Evolution of Strong Reciprocity" (2000)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/samuel_bowles/7/