Does Mother Nature Punish Rotten Kids?

This paper studies the evolutionary game theory of parent-offspring conflict. It revisits a question posed by Gary Becker in economics and Richard Alexander in biology, namely "when do children act in accord with the reproductive interests of their parents?"biology evolutionary game theory parent-offspring conflict family economics

The Algebra of Assortativity and the Evolution of Cooperation

This paper presents an evolutionary game theoretic analysis of the dynamics of a population of prisoners' dilemma players where the probability of encountering an cooperator is higher for cooperators than for noncooperators. Examples from biological and cultural evolution are presented. There is also a discussion of voluntary matching where one's type is informatively, but imperfectly signalled.subliminal extant Smith economagic gmm

Extracting Valuable Data from Classroom Trading Pits

Edward Chamberlin, who initiated classroom market experiments, used the results of these experiments to argue that competitive equilibrium performs poorly in explaining the outcomes of real markets. Vernon Smith altered the design of Chamberlin's experiment to increase the amount of price information available to traders and in classroom experiments with this design found that trading outcomes were close to those predicted by competitive theory. This paper examines results of classroom trading experiments using the design found in Experiments with Economic Principles, an introductory economics text by Ted Bergstrom and John Miller. The procedure in this experiment is intermediate between that of Chamberlin and that of Smith. We have collected data on transaction prices and quantities from a large number of classroom experiments using this design. We compare the experimental outcomes with the predictions made by competitive equilibriumtheory and by a simple profit-splitting theory. Evidence suggests that neither theory is entirely successful, though in the first rounds of trading there seems to be a significant amount of profit-splitting and as traders become more experienced, outcomes are closer to those predicted by competitive theory.experimental economics, classroom experiments, Edward Chamberlin, Vernon Smith, trading pits, demand and supply, profit- splitting, random matching, excess trading

Free Labor for Costly Journals?

This paper discusses the economics of academic journal publishing. It presents data on pricing of journals to libraries by non-profit and commercial publishers. It advocates the view that scholars should refrain from doing free refereeing for overpriced journals.subliminal extant Smith economagic gmm

Experimental Economics and Chamberlin's Excess Trading Conjecture

Edward Chamberlin conjectured that the number of trades in realistic trading systems is likely to exceed that predicted by competitive equilibrium theory. He supported this conjecture by data from a large number of classroom experiments and with a plausible argument based on a numerical example. This paper states and proves a theorem that supports and illuminates Chamberlin's intuition, supplies examples of trading processes that lead to excess trading, and presents some additional experimental evidence.experimental economics, classroom experiments, excess trading

Secrets of journal subscription prices: For-profit publishers charge libraries two to three times more than non-profits.

Ted Bergstrom writes of his involvement requesting copies of library contracts with several major publishers in order to compare journal pricing data for bundled journal access. The significant differences that exist across universities for the same content and between publishers raises some major questions on the effectiveness of such pricing models. He finds that the differences in bundle prices depend largely on differences in historical expenditure from the late 1990s. But the clues that publishers used a decade ago in their guessing game with libraries are in need of a signficant update

Evolution of Behavior in Family Games

This paper explores the evolutionary biology of cooperation between relatives playing asymmetric games.evolution family game theory biology economics

A Survey of Theories of the Family

This review explores the theory of household technology and the associated possibilities for distributing utility among household members. It also explores decision theory within the household, drawing on standard consumer decision theory. The review discusses models of equilbrium in which families are formed by persons voluntarily choosing mates. This theory is analogous to ``Tiebout theory'' in urban economics, where the objects of choice include not only the amount of public goods supplied in each city, but also which individuals live in each place. An aspect of family life that has fewer parallels in the economics of market economies is intrafamilial affection. The final section of this paper reviews a growing theoretical literature on love, altruism and the family.Center for Research on Economic and Social Theory, Department of Economics, University of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/101098/1/ECON082.pd