Assume a Chimpanzee Chimpanzee Behavior is Consistent with the Default Model of Economic Choice, But Human Behavior is Not

The default model of economic choice--used in economics instruction and in the bulk of scholarship in microeconomics--assumes that decision makers are selfish. As shown by behavioral scientists, this assumption is consistent with chimpanzee behavior, but inconsistent with human behavior. Unlike chimpanzees, humans share the rewards of collaboration, engage in third-party punishment of norm violators, and respect ownership. In addition, the choice model implicitly rules out conformity and over-imitation (copying irrelevant steps in a process), two common human behaviors that are rare in chimpanzees. Humans violate the assumptions of the choice model in ways that help explain our higher standard of living, helping to explain why zookeepers are humans, not chimpanzees