Two basic tenets of the Walrasian model, behavior based on self-interested exogenous preferences and complete and costless contracting have recently come under critical scrutiny. First, social norms and psychological dispositions extending beyond the selfish motives of Homo economicus may have...

A number of outstanding puzzles in economics may be resolved by recognizing that where members of a group benefit from mutual adherence to a social norm, agents may obey the norm and punish its violators, even when this behavior cannot be motivated by self-regarding, outcome-oriented...

Intro -- Series Foreword -- Preface -- I Introduction -- 1 Moral Sentiments and Material Interests: Origins, Evidence, and Consequences -- II The Behavioral Ecology of Cooperation -- 2 The Evolution of Cooperation in Primate Groups -- 3 The Natural History of Human Food Sharing and Cooperation:...