AN ECONOMISTS PERSPECTIVE ON THE EVOLUTION OF NORMS

This paper seeks to close the gap between the models of man used by ec onomists and sociologists. The problem of the evolution of social norm s is identified with the equilibrium selection problem in game theory. Adopting such a view requires that sociologists be ready to regard so cial norms as being endogenously determined, and for economists to aba ndon the literature on refinements of Nash equilibrium in favor of an evolutionary approach. Even in simple situations like the Ultimatum Ga me, the consequences can be striking.