A naturalistic theory of economic organization

J.W. Stoelhorst and Peter J. Richerson

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2013, vol. 90, issue S, S45-S56

Abstract: We develop a theory of economic organization grounded in the naturalistic paradigm currently emerging at the intersection of biology and the behavioral and social sciences. The crux of this approach is the recognition that an understanding of the evolutionary origins of human organizational capabilities can inform theories of contemporary economic organization. Modern firms sustain large scale cooperation by applying cultural ‘work-arounds’ to tribal instincts that evolved from simultaneous within-group and between-group competition on a much smaller scale. We translate this insight into ten principles of economic organization.

Keywords: Evolutionary theory; Multi-level selection; Gene-culture co-evolution; Cooperation; Economic organization; Ethics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: B52 C71 D02 D03 D23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:90:y:2013:i:s:p:s45-s56

DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2012.12.012

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