American Economic Review Vol. 85 No. 1 1995
On the Evolution of Altruistic Ethical Rules for Siblings
Abstract
This paper explores the evolutionary foundations of altruism among siblings and extends the biologists' kin-selection theory to a richer class of games between relatives. It shows that a population will resist invasion by dominant mutant genes if individuals maximize a "semi-Kantian" utility function in games with their siblings. It is shown that a population that resists invasion by dominant mutants may be invaded by recessive mutants. Conditions are found under which a population resists invasion by dominant and also by recessive mutants.
- Volume
- 85
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 58-81
- Sources
- bibtex:phds-export.bib