Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/259911 
Year of Publication: 
2006
Series/Report no.: 
Working Paper No. 2005:27
Publisher: 
Lund University, School of Economics and Management, Department of Economics, Lund
Abstract: 
The standard method when analyzing the problem of cooperation using evolutionary game theory is to assume that people are randomly matched against each other in repeated games. In this paper we discuss the implications of allowing agents to have preferences over possible opponents. We model reputation as a noisy observation of actual propensity to cooperate and illustrate how reputation based choice of opponents can explain both the emergence and deterioration of cooperation. We show that empirical and experimental evidence of cooperation is consistent with our hypothesis that people behave so as to minimize the risk of damaging their reputation as nice, cooperative persons.
Subjects: 
Cooperation
Prisoners Dilemma
Signaling
Reputation
Altruism
Institutions
JEL: 
C70
C90
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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