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Individual Strategy and Social Structure

Individual Strategy and Social Structure An Evolutionary Theory of Institutions

Paperback (26 Feb 2001)

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Publisher's Synopsis

Neoclassical economics as-sumes that people are highly rational and can reason their way through even the most complex economic problems. In Individual Strategy and Social Structure, Peyton Young argues for a more realistic view in which people have a limited understanding of their environment, are sometimes short-sighted, and occasionally act in perverse ways. He shows how the cumulative experiences of many such individuals coalesce over time into customs, norms, and institutions that govern economic and social life. He develops a theory that predicts how such institutions evolve and characterizes their welfare properties.


The ideas are illustrated through a variety of examples, including patterns of residential segregation, rules of the road, claims on property, forms of economic contracts, and norms of equity. The book relies on new results in evolutionary game theory and stochastic dynamical systems theory, many of them originated by the author. It can serve as an introductory text, or be read on its own as a contribution to the study of economic and social institutions.

About the Publisher

Princeton University Press

We seek to publish the innovative works of the greatest minds in academia, from the most respected senior scholar to the extraordinarily promising graduate student, in each of the disciplines in which we publish. The Press consciously acquires a collection of titles--a coherent "list" of books--in each discipline, providing focus, continuity, and a basis for the development of future publications.

Book information

ISBN: 9780691086873
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Pub date:
DEWEY: 306.3
DEWEY edition: 23
Language: English
Number of pages: 208
Weight: 322g
Height: 159mm
Width: 235mm
Spine width: 16mm