10.4225/03/59fab51e91681
Guttman, Joel M.
Joel M.
Guttman
Rational Actors, Tit-For-Tat Types, and the Evolution of Cooperation
Monash University
2017
Evolutionary models
Voluntary cooperation
Rationality
Prisoner's dilemma
Repeated games
1995
1959.1/36276
monash:6979
2017-11-02 06:03:09
Journal contribution
https://bridges.monash.edu/articles/journal_contribution/Rational_Actors_Tit-For-Tat_Types_and_the_Evolution_of_Cooperation/5562292
Evolutionary models in economics have often been criticized for failing to allow for rational, maximizing behavior. The present paper represents a step toward correcting this deficiency, by introducing rational actors into an evolutionary model of the finitely repeated Prisoners' Dilemma. At the same time, the model endogenizes the uncertainty postulated in the classic model of Kreps, et al. (1982), thus explaining cooperation by rational actors in the finitely repeated Prisoners' Dilemma. A testable implication of the model is that the level of voluntary cooperation in a society will be relatively high where geographical mobility is relatively low.