|
EconStor >
Max-Planck-Institut für Ökonomik, Jena >
Jena Economic Research Papers, MPI für Ökonomik >
Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
http://hdl.handle.net/10419/56905
|
| | |
| Title: | | Brothers in Arms: Cooperation in Defence  |
| Authors: | | Hugh-Jones, David Zultan, Roi |
| Issue Date: | | 2010 |
| Series/Report no.: | | Jena economic research papers 2010,064 |
| Abstract: | | In experiments, people behave more cooperatively when they are aware of an external threat, while in the field, we observe surprisingly high levels of cooperation and altruism within groups in conflict situations such as civil wars. We provide an explanation for these phenomena. We introduce a model in which different groups vary in their willingness to help each other against external attackers. Attackers infer the cooperativeness of a group from its members' behaviour under attack, and may be deterred by a group which bands together against an initial attack. Then, even self-interested individuals may behave cooperatively when threatened, so as to mimic more cooperative groups. By doing so, they drive away attackers and increase their own future security. We argue that a group's reputation is a public good with a natural weakest-link structure. We test the implications of our model in a laboratory experiment. |
| Subjects: | | cooperation conflict, defence signaling |
| JEL: | | C73 C92 D74 |
| Document Type: | | Working Paper |
| Appears in Collections: | | Jena Economic Research Papers, MPI für Ökonomik
|
| |
| | |
Download bibliographical data as:
BibTeX
|
| |
Share on:http://hdl.handle.net/10419/56905
|
Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.
|