ISSN:
1573-6989
Keywords:
code of ethics
;
competition
;
cooperation
;
culture
;
exchange
;
ethnically homogeneous middleman group
;
free-rider
;
identity
;
kinship distance
;
meme
;
norms
;
peacock's tail
;
reciprocity
;
reputation
;
rules of the game
;
transaction costs
;
trustworthiness
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Biology
,
Economics
Notes:
Abstract New institutional economics (NIE) has been very successful in explaining the role of institutions such as the firm, money, and contract law in facilitating production and exchange in human societies. In this paper, I will show that the NIE approach, which so far has been used by economists to analyze institutions and organizations in human society, including the ethnically homogeneous middleman groups, can also be extended to explain the high degree of cooperation and coordination of activities of honeybees, ants, and schooling fish. In addition, the paper emphasize the importance of identity in nonhuman and human societies in eliciting cooperation and in detecting cheaters or fakers. This paper thus contribute to the integration/consilience of economics and biology by providing a more unified view of aspects of the bioeconomics of nonhuman and human societies.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1010018409737
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