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Two widely heralded yet contested approaches to economics have emerged in recent years. One follows an older, rather neglected approach which emphasizes evolutionary theory in terms of individuals and institutions. The other emphasizes economies as complex adaptive systems. Important concepts from evolutionary theory include the distinction between proximate and ultimate causation, multilevel selection, cultural change as an evolutionary process, and human psychology as a product of gene–culture coevolution. Relevant concepts from complexity theory include self-organization, fractals, chaos, sensitive dependence, basins of attraction, and path dependence. This book explores these two bodies of theory and their potential impact on economics. Central themes include the challenges that emerge through integration, evolutionary behavioral economics, and the evolution of institutions. Practical applications are provided and avenues for future research highlighted.

In the natural world, some agents (investors) employ strategies that provide resources, services, or information while others (exploiters) achieve gain through these efforts. Such behavior coexists and is observable in many species at many levels: from bacteria which depend on the existence of biofilms to synthesize constituent proteins; to cancerous cells which employ angiogenesis in tumors; to parents who forego vaccinating their children yet benefit from herd immunity; to countries’ actions in the handling of greenhouse gases. To analyze such behavior, two independent research traditions have developed in parallel—one couched in evolutionary theory championed by behavioral ecologists, the other in the social sciences advocated by economists. This book looks for commonalities in understanding and approach, in an effort to spur research into this widespread phenomenon.

The growing field of social economics explores how individual behavior is affected by group-level influences, extending the approach of mainstream economics to include broader social motivations and incentives. This book offers a rich and rigorous selection of current work in the field, focusing on some of the most active research areas. Topics covered include culture, gender, ethics, and philanthropic behavior. Social economics grows out of dissatisfaction with a purely individualistic model of human behavior. This book shows how mainstream economics is expanding its domain beyond market and price mechanisms to recognize a role for cultural and social factors. Some chapters, in the tradition of Gary Becker, attempt to extend the economics paradigm to explain other social phenomena; others, following George Akerlof’s approach, incorporate sociological and psychological assumptions to explain economic behavior. Loosely organized by theme—Social Preferences; Culture, Values, and Norms; and Networks and Social Interactions”—the chapters address a range of subjects, including gender differences in political decisions, “moral repugnance” as a constraint on markets, charitable giving by the super-rich, value diversity within a country, and the influence of children on their parents’ social networks. Contributors Mireia Borrell-Porta, Sjoerd Beugelsdijk, Joan Costa-Font, Elwyn Davies, Julio Jorge Elias, Marcel Fafchamps, Luigi Guiso, Odelia Heizler, Ayal Kimhi, Mariko J. Klasing, Martin Ljunge, Mario Macis, Mark Ottoni-Wilhelm, Abigail Payne, Kelly Ragan, Jana Sadeh, Azusa Sato, Kimberley Scharf, Sarah Smith, Mirco Tonin, Michael Vlassopoulos, Evguenia Winschel, Philipp Zahn