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The evolution of social and moral behavior: Evolutionary insights for public policy

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  • Manner, Mikko
  • Gowdy, John

Abstract

This paper explores the evolution of humans as social beings and the implications of this for economic theory and policy. A major flaw in Walrasian economics is the assumption of "self-regarding" agents--economic actors make decisions independently of social context and without regard to the behavior of other consumers and firms. Truly other-regarding behavior, such as altruism and altruistic punishment, cannot be fully captured in the standard economic model. Standard economic assumptions about human behavior make pure altruism an irrational "anomaly" that cannot survive the evolutionary selection process. However, recent findings from neuroscience, behavioral economics evolutionary game theory and animal behavior have paved the way for a realistic, science-based, and policy-relevant foundation for economic theory. Other-regarding emotions such as altruism, love, and envy are an essential part of the human experience. We use the Price equation, showing the feasibility of the evolution of group selection of altruistic preferences, to explore some of the implications of this phenomenon for economic theory and policy. We explore evidence that the human capacity for empathy evolved from primates and suggest that this was the precursor for human morality. We suggest that if we drop the assumption that fitness is equated with the consumption of market goods, pure altruism is no longer fitness reducing, particularly in western societies. We also examine individual preferences for altruism in terms of their effect on well being.

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  • Manner, Mikko & Gowdy, John, 2010. "The evolution of social and moral behavior: Evolutionary insights for public policy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(4), pages 753-761, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:69:y:2010:i:4:p:753-761
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    8. A. Mantovani & O. Tarola & C. Vergari, 2015. "Hedonic Quality and Social Norms: a hybrid model of product differentiation," Working Papers wp1029, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.
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    11. Toman, Michael, 2014. "The need for multiple types of information to inform climate change assessment," Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 5(3), pages 469-485, December.
    12. GROLLEAU, Gilles & MZOUGHI, Naoufel & THOYER, Sophie, 2015. "Les incitations monétaires dans la politique agro-environnementale : peut-on faire mieux avec moins ?," Review of Agricultural and Environmental Studies - Revue d'Etudes en Agriculture et Environnement (RAEStud), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), vol. 96(2), June.
    13. Enrico Colombatto & Valerio Tavormina, 2015. "Does altruism justify privileges?," ICER Working Papers 01-2015, ICER - International Centre for Economic Research.
    14. Foxon, Timothy J., 2011. "A coevolutionary framework for analysing a transition to a sustainable low carbon economy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(12), pages 2258-2267.
    15. Greiner, Romy, 2015. "Motivations and attitudes influence farmers' willingness to participate in biodiversity conservation contracts," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 154-165.
    16. Mzoughi, Naoufel, 2014. "Do organic farmers feel happier than conventional ones? An exploratory analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 38-43.
    17. Thiermann, Ute B. & Sheate, William R., 2020. "Motivating individuals for social transition: The 2-pathway model and experiential strategies for pro-environmental behaviour," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    18. Gerardo Marletto, 2012. "Which Conceptual Foundations For Environmental Policies? An Institutional And Evolutionary Framework Of Economic Change," Working Papers 0112, CREI Università degli Studi Roma Tre, revised 2012.
    19. Antonio Tencati & Laszlo Zsolnai, 2012. "Collaborative Enterprise and Sustainability: The Case of Slow Food," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 110(3), pages 345-354, October.
    20. Kallis, Giorgos & Norgaard, Richard B., 2010. "Coevolutionary ecological economics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(4), pages 690-699, February.
    21. Mantovani, Andrea & Tarola, Ornella & Vergari, Cecilia, 2016. "Hedonic and environmental quality: A hybrid model of product differentiation," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 99-123.
    22. G. Grolleau & Naoufel Mzoughi & Sophie Thoyer, 2015. "Using monetary incentives in agri-environmental policies: Can we do more with less? [Les incitations monétaires dans la politique agro-environnementale : peut-on faire mieux avec moins ?]," Post-Print hal-01884947, HAL.
    23. Jeroen C.J.M. van den Bergh & Giorgos Kallis, 2009. "Evolutionary Policy," Papers on Economics and Evolution 2009-02, Philipps University Marburg, Department of Geography.
    24. Niraj, Shekhar K. & Dayal, Vikram & Krausman, Paul R., 2010. "Applying methodological pluralism to wildlife and the economy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(8), pages 1610-1616, June.

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