The origin of cooperation

Nihal Koduri () and Andrew Lo ()
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Nihal Koduri: Operations Research Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02142

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2021, vol. 118, issue 26, e2015572118

Abstract: We construct an evolutionary model of a population consisting of two types of interacting individuals that reproduce under random environmental conditions. We show that not only does the evolutionarily dominant behavior maximize the number of offspring of each type, it also minimizes the correlation between the number of offspring of each type, driving it toward −1. We provide several examples that illustrate how correlation can be used to explain the evolution of cooperation.

Keywords: evolution; cooperation; interaction; correlation; model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nas:journl:v:118:y:2021:p:e2015572118

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