Individual Strategy and Social Structure An Evolutionary Theory of Institutions / H. Peyton Young.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Young, H. Peyton., Author.

Series:

Princeton paperbacks

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Social institutions.

Institutional economics.

Game theory.

Evolutionary economics.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (208 pages)

Edition:

2. print., 1. pbk. print.

Manufacture:

Baltimore, Md. : Project MUSE, 2021

Place of Publication:

Princeton, NJ : Princeton Univ. Press, 2001.

Summary:

Neoclassical economics as-sumes that people are highly rational and can reason their way through even the most complex economic problems. In Individual Strategy and Social Structure, Peyton Young argues for a more realistic view in which people have a limited understanding of their environment, are sometimes short-sighted, and occasionally act in perverse ways. He shows how the cumulative experiences of many such individuals coalesce over time into customs, norms, and institutions that govern economic and social life. He develops a theory that predicts how such institutions evolve and characterizes their welfare properties. The ideas are illustrated through a variety of examples, including patterns of residential segregation, rules of the road, claims on property, forms of economic contracts, and norms of equity. The book relies on new results in evolutionary game theory and stochastic dynamical systems theory, many of them originated by the author. It can serve as an introductory text, or be read on its own as a contribution to the study of economic and social institutions.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

PREFACE

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Chapter 1. OVERVIEW

Chapter 2. LEARNING

Chapter 3. DYNAMIC AND STOCHASTIC STABILITY

Chapter 4. ADAPTIVE LEARNING IN SMALL GAMES

Chapter 5. VARIATIONS ON THE LEARNING PROCESS

Chapter 6 LOCAL INTERACTION

Chapter 7. EQUILIBRIUM AND DISEQUILIBRIUM SELECTION IN GENERAL GAMES

Chapter 8. BARGAINING

Chapter 9. CONTRACTS

Chapter 10. CONCLUSION

Appendix. PROOFS OF SELECTED THEOREMS

NOTES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780691214252

0691214255

OCLC:

1227051210