Evolutionary Models of Preference Formation

Ingela Alger and Jörgen Weibull

No 18-955, TSE Working Papers from Toulouse School of Economics (TSE)

Abstract: The literature on the evolution of preferences of individuals in strategic interactions is vast and diverse. We organize the discussion around the following question: Supposing that material outcomes drive evolutionary success, under what circumstances does evolution promote Homo oeconomicus, defined as material self-interest, and when does it instead lead to other preferences? The literature suggests that Homo oeconomicus is favored by evolution only when individuals' preferences are their private information and the population is large and well-mixed so that individuals with rare mutant preferences almost never get to interact with each other. If rare mutants instead interact more often (say, due to local dispersion), evolution instead favors a certain generalization of Homo oeconomicus including a Kantian concern. If individuals interact under complete information about preferences, evolution destabilizes Homo oeconomicus in virtually all games.

JEL-codes: C73 D01 D03 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-gth and nep-hpe
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Evolutionary Models of Preference Formation (2019)
Working Paper: Evolutionary Models of Preference Formation (2018)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:tse:wpaper:32952

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