The Evolution of Social Norms

H. Young

No 726, Economics Series Working Papers from University of Oxford, Department of Economics

Abstract: Social norms are patterns of behavior that are self-enforcing at the group level: everyone wants to conform when they expect everyone else to conform. There are multiple mechanisms that sustain social norms, including a desire to coordinate, fear of being sanctioned, signaling membership in the group, or simply following the lead of others. This article shows how stochastic evolutionary game theory can be used to study the dynamics of norms. We illustrate with a variety of examples drawn from economics, sociology, demography, and political science. These include bargaining norms, norms governing the terms of contracts, norms of retirement, duelling, footbinding, medical treatment, and the use of contraceptives. These cases highlight the challenges of applying the theory to empirical cases. They also show that the modern theory of norm dynamics yields insights and predictions that go beyond conventional equilibrium analysis.

Keywords: evolutionary game theory; equilibrium selection; stochastic stability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A12 C73 O10 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014-10-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-evo, nep-hpe, nep-ore and nep-soc
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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