The Coevolution of Morality and Legal Institutions - An indirect evolutionary approach

Evolutionary game theory is often used to analyze the evolution of moral preferences. A few studies also examine the co-evolution of preferences and an institutional aspect of the environment. Allowing the adaption of just one institutional aspect such as litigation or legal insurance to co-evolve with morality, however, may be inadequate. If court rulings co-evolve with morality the need for legal insurance may vary over time. Applying the indirect evolutionary approach, we therefore analyze the co-evolution of morality in the sense of trustworthiness, court rulings (based on rational belief formation), and the population share which is legally insured. If type detection is not possible, the evolutionary interaction of the legal institutions may play a decisive role for the emergence of morality.