A Model of Conditonal Altruism
Sammanfattning: Altruism is a concept that so far does not fit into mainstream economic theory. However, it has recently gained more attention in an attempt to justify non-selfish behavior of homo economicus, which is widely observed in economic experiments as well as social interactions. We develop a model of conditional altruism, in the framework of Prisoners' Dilemma, which allows to explain situations where people with altruistic social preferences do not behave altruistically. We show that incorporation of altruistic preferences into the utility function of individuals does not guarantee that they behave altruistically. Depending on their environment, even altruistically oriented individuals may decide to defect and the desired cooperation in the society may not be obtained and/or sustained. We also perform a series of computer simulations in order to strengthen our theoretical analysis and findings about the factors that influence people's decision to cooperate. We also assess the stability of the outcomes of the social interaction under consideration. We argue that issues such as beliefs, expectations, and mutual trust are of major importance for economic interactions.
HÄR KAN DU HÄMTA UPPSATSEN I FULLTEXT. (följ länken till nästa sida)