Economic drivers of biological complexity

Phelps, Steve and Russell, Yvan I. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4608-4791 (2015) Economic drivers of biological complexity. Adaptive Behavior, 23 (3) . pp. 315-326. ISSN 1059-7123 [Article] (doi:10.1177/1059712315593607)

Abstract

The complexity that we observe in nature can often be explained in terms of cooperative behavior. For example, the
major transitions of evolution required the emergence of cooperation among the lower-level units of selection, which
led to specialization through division-of-labor ultimately resulting in spontaneous order. There are two aspects to
address explaining how such cooperation is sustained: how free-riders are prevented from free-riding on the benefits of
cooperative tasks and, just as importantly, how those social benefits arise. We review these problems from an economic
perspective, and highlight how ideas from economics can help us to better understand how the benefits of social interactions
arise, how they are sustained, and how they affect the underlying social dilemmas.

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