1932

Abstract

Social norms are patterns of behavior that are self-enforcing within a group: Everyone conforms, everyone is expected to conform, and everyone wants to conform when they expect everyone else to conform. Social norms are often sustained by multiple mechanisms, including a desire to coordinate, fear of being sanctioned, signaling membership in a group, or simply following the lead of others. This article shows how stochastic evolutionary game theory can be used to study the resulting dynamics. I illustrate with a variety of examples drawn from economics, sociology, demography, and political science. These include bargaining norms, norms governing the terms of contracts, norms of retirement, dueling, foot binding, medical treatment, and the use of contraceptives. These cases highlight the challenges of applying the theory to empirical cases. They also show that the modern theory of norm dynamics yields insights and predictions that go beyond conventional equilibrium analysis.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-economics-080614-115322
2015-08-02
2024-12-13
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/deliver/fulltext/economics/7/1/annurev-economics-080614-115322.html?itemId=/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-economics-080614-115322&mimeType=html&fmt=ahah

Literature Cited

  1. Acemoglu D, Jackson MO. 2015. History, expectations and leadership in the evolution of social norms. Rev. Econ. Stud. 82:423–56
  2. Acemoglu D, Robinson JA. 2012. Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty New York: Crown Bus. [Google Scholar]
  3. Akerlof GA. 1980. A theory of social custom, of which unemployment may be one consequence. Q. J. Econ. 94:749–75 [Google Scholar]
  4. Akerlof GA, Yellen JL, Katz L. 1996. An analysis of out-of-wedlock childbearing in the United States. Q. J. Econ. 111:277–317 [Google Scholar]
  5. Axelrod R. 1984. The Evolution of Cooperation New York: Basic [Google Scholar]
  6. Axelrod R. 1986. An evolutionary approach to norms. Am. Polit. Sci. Rev. 80:1095–111 [Google Scholar]
  7. Axtell R, Epstein JM. 1999. Coordination in transient social networks: an agent-based computational model of the timing of retirement. Behavioral Dimensions of Retirement Economics Aaron HJ. 161–83 Washington, DC: Brookings Inst. [Google Scholar]
  8. Banfield EC. 1958. The Moral Basis of a Backward Society Chicago: Free [Google Scholar]
  9. Bardhan P. 1984. Land, Labor, and Rural Poverty: Essays in Development Economics New York: Columbia Univ. Press [Google Scholar]
  10. Bardhan P, Rudra A. 1980. Terms and conditions of sharecropping contracts: an analysis of village survey data in India. J. Dev. Stud. 16:287–302 [Google Scholar]
  11. Baronchelli A, Felici M, Loreto V, Caglioti E, Steels L. 2006. Sharp transition towards shared vocabularies in multi-agent systems. J. Stat. Mech. 2006:P06014 [Google Scholar]
  12. Behrman JR, Kohler H-P, Watkins SC. 2002. Social networks and changes in contraceptive use over time: evidence from a longitudinal study in rural Kenya. Demography 39:713–38 [Google Scholar]
  13. Belloc M, Bowles S. 2013. The persistence of inferior cultural-institutional conventions. Am. Econ. Rev. 103:93–98 [Google Scholar]
  14. Bernheim D. 1994. A theory of conformity. J. Polit. Econ. 102:841–77 [Google Scholar]
  15. Bhandari M, Devereauz PJ, Swiontkowski MF, Schemitsch EH, Shankardass K et al. 2003. A randomized trial of opinion leader endorsement in a survey of orthopedic surgeons: effect on primary response rates. Int. J. Epidemiol. 32:634–36 [Google Scholar]
  16. Bicchieri C. 2006. The Grammar of Society: The Nature and Dynamics of Social Norms Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press [Google Scholar]
  17. Billari F, Philipov D, Testa MR. 2009. Attitudes, norms and perceived behavioural control: explaining fertility intentions in Bulgaria. Eur. J. Popul. 25:439–65 [Google Scholar]
  18. Binmore K. 1994. Game Theory and the Social Contract, Vol. 1: Playing Fair. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press
  19. Binmore K. 2005. Natural Justice New York: Oxford Univ. Press [Google Scholar]
  20. Binmore K, Samuelson L, Young HP. 2003. Equilibrium selection in bargaining models. Games Econ. Behav. 45:296–328 [Google Scholar]
  21. Blume LE. 1995. The statistical mechanics of best-response strategy revision. Games Econ. Behav. 11:111–45 [Google Scholar]
  22. Blume LE, Durlauf SN. 2001. The interactions-based approach to socioeconomic behavior. See Durlauf & Young 2001, pp. 15–44 [Google Scholar]
  23. Blume LE, Durlauf SN. 2003. Equilibrium concepts for social interaction models. Int. Game Theory Rev. 5:193–209 [Google Scholar]
  24. Bolton P, Dewatripont M. 2005. Contract Theory Cambridge, MA: MIT Press [Google Scholar]
  25. Bongaarts J, Watkins SC. 1996. Social interactions and the contemporary fertility transitions. Popul. Dev. Rev. 22:639–82 [Google Scholar]
  26. Bowles S. 2004. Microeconomics: Behavior, Institutions, and Evolution Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press [Google Scholar]
  27. Bowles S, Choi J-K. 2013. Coevolution of farming and private property during the Early Holocene. PNAS 110:8830–35 [Google Scholar]
  28. Bowles S, Hwang H-S, Naidu S. 2010. Evolutionary bargaining with intentional idiosyncratic play. Econ. Lett. 109:31–33 [Google Scholar]
  29. Boyd R, Richerson PJ. 2002. Group beneficial norms can spread rapidly in a structured population. J. Theor. Biol. 215:287–96 [Google Scholar]
  30. Boyd R, Richerson PJ. 2005. The Origin and Evolution of Cultures New York: Oxford Univ. Press [Google Scholar]
  31. Brock W, Durlauf SN. 2001. Discrete choice with social interactions. Rev. Econ. Stud. 68:235–60 [Google Scholar]
  32. Brown LM. 2013. The diffusion of innovations: empirical and experimental evidence. PhD Diss., Univ. Oxford
  33. Brown LM, Young HP. 2014. The diffusion of a social innovation: executive stock options from 1936–2005. Work. Pap., Dep. Econ., Univ. Oxford
  34. Brügger B, Lalive R, Zweimüller J. 2009. Does culture affect unemployment? Evidence from the Röstigraben. Discuss. Pap. 4283, IZA, Bonn
  35. Burke MA. 2015. The distributional effects of contractual norms: the case of cropshare agreements. Work. Pap., Fed. Reserve Bank Boston
  36. Burke MA, Fournier GM, Prasad K. 2007. The diffusion of a medical innovation: Is success in the stars?. South. Econ. J. 73:588–603 [Google Scholar]
  37. Burke MA, Fournier GM, Prasad K. 2010a. Geographic variations in a model of physician treatment choice with social interactions. J. Econ. Behav. Organ. 73:418–32 [Google Scholar]
  38. Burke MA, Heiland F. 2007. Social dynamics of obesity. Econ. Inq. 45:571–91 [Google Scholar]
  39. Burke MA, Heiland F, Nadler CM. 2010b. From ‘overweight’ to ‘about right’: evidence of a generational shift in body weight norms. Obesity 18:1226–34 [Google Scholar]
  40. Burke MA, Young HP. 2011. Social norms. Handbook of Social Economics, Vol. 1A Bisin A, Benhabib J, Jackson MO. 311–38 Amsterdam: Elsevier [Google Scholar]
  41. Burtless G. 2006. Social norms, rules of thumb, and retirement: evidence for rationality in retirement planning. Social Structures, Aging, and Self-Regulation in the Elderly Schaie KW, Carstensen LL. 123–60 New York: Springer [Google Scholar]
  42. Carvalho J-P. 2013. Veiling. Q. J. Econ. 128:337–70 [Google Scholar]
  43. Centola D, Baronchelli A. 2015. The spontaneous emergence of conventions: an experimental study of cultural evolution. PNAS 112:1989–94 [Google Scholar]
  44. Chandra A, Staiger D. 2007. Productivity spillovers in health care: evidence from the treatment of heart attacks. J. Polit. Econ. 115:1103–40 [Google Scholar]
  45. Cheung SNS. 1969. The Theory of Share Tenancy Chicago: Univ. Chicago Press [Google Scholar]
  46. Cialdini R, Kallgren C, Reno R. 1990. A focus theory of normative conduct: a theoretical refinement and reevaluation of the role of norms in human behavior. Adv. Exp. Soc. Psychol. 24:201–34 [Google Scholar]
  47. Cohen WJ. 1957. Retirement Policies Under Social Security Berkeley: Univ. Calif. Press [Google Scholar]
  48. Coleman JS. 1987. Norms as social capital. Economic Imperialism: The Economic Approach Applied Outside the Field of Economics Radnitzky G, Bernholz P. 133–55 New York: Paragon [Google Scholar]
  49. Coleman JS. 1990. Foundations of Social Theory Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press [Google Scholar]
  50. Durlauf SN. 1997. Statistical mechanical approaches to socioeconomic behavior. The Economy as a Complex Evolving System Vol. 2 Arthur WB, Durlauf SN, Lane D. 81–104 Menlo Park, CA: Addison-Wesley [Google Scholar]
  51. Durlauf SN, Young HP. 2001. Social Dynamics Cambridge, MA: MIT Press [Google Scholar]
  52. Edgerton RB. 1992. Sick Societies: Challenging the Myth of Primitive Harmony New York: Free [Google Scholar]
  53. Ellickson RC. 1991. Order Without Law: How Neighbors Settle Disputes Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press [Google Scholar]
  54. Ellickson RC. 2001. The evolution of social norms: a perspective from the legal academy. See Hechter & Opp 2001, pp. 35–75 [Google Scholar]
  55. Ellison G. 1993. Learning, local interaction and coordination. Econometrica 61:1047–71 [Google Scholar]
  56. Ellison G. 1997. Learning from personal experience: one rational guy and the justification of myopia. Games Econ. Behav. 19:180–210 [Google Scholar]
  57. Ellison G. 2000. Basins of attraction, long run stochastic stability and the speed of step-by-step evolution. Rev. Econ. Stud. 67:17–45 [Google Scholar]
  58. Elster J. 1989a. The Cement of Society Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press [Google Scholar]
  59. Elster J. 1989b. Social norms and economic theory. J. Econ. Perspect. 3:499–117 [Google Scholar]
  60. Elster J. 1990. Norms of revenge. Ethics 100:862–85 [Google Scholar]
  61. Entwhisle B, Rindfuss RD, Guilkey A, Chamratrithirong A, Curran SR, Sawangdee Y. 1996. Community and contraceptive choice in rural Thailand: a case study of Nang Rong. Demography 33:1–11 [Google Scholar]
  62. Fehr E, Fischbacher U. 2004a. Third party punishment and social norms. Evol. Hum. Behav. 25:63–87 [Google Scholar]
  63. Fehr E, Fischbacher U. 2004b. Social norms and human cooperation. Trends Cogn. Sci. 8:185–90 [Google Scholar]
  64. Fehr E, Fischbacher U, Gächter S. 2002. Strong reciprocity, human cooperation, and the enforcement of social norms. Hum. Nat. 13:1–25 [Google Scholar]
  65. Fisher LM, Yavas A. 2010. A case for percentage commission contracts: the impact of a “race” among agents. J. Real Estate Finance 40:1–13 [Google Scholar]
  66. Fisman R, Miguel E. 2006. Cultures of corruption: evidence from diplomatic parking tickets. NBER Work. Pap. 12312
  67. Foster DP, Young HP. 1990. Stochastic evolutionary game dynamics. Theor. Popul. Biol. 38:219–32 [Google Scholar]
  68. Foster DP, Young HP. 1991. Cooperation in the short and in the long run. Games Econ. Behav. 3:145–56 [Google Scholar]
  69. Freidlin M, Wentzell A. 1984. Random Perturbations of Dynamical Systems Berlin: Springer-Verlag [Google Scholar]
  70. Gallo E. 2014. Communication networks in markets. Work. Pap. Econ. 1431, Univ. Cambridge
  71. Gambetta D. 2009. Codes of the Underworld: How Criminals Communicate Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press [Google Scholar]
  72. Gigerenzer G, Todd PM. ABC Res. Group 1999. Simple Heuristics That Make Us Smart New York: Oxford Univ. Press [Google Scholar]
  73. Graham BS. 2008. Identifying social interactions through conditional variance restrictions. Econometrica 76:643–60 [Google Scholar]
  74. Guiso L, Sapienza P, Zingales L. 2009. Long term persistence. NBER Work. Pap. 14278
  75. Hammond R, Ornstein J. 2014. A model of social influence on body weight. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 1331:34–42 [Google Scholar]
  76. Hechter M, Opp K-D. 2001. Social Norms New York: Russell Sage Found [Google Scholar]
  77. Hofbauer J, Sigmund K. 1998. Evolutionary Games and Population Dynamics Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press [Google Scholar]
  78. Homans GC. 1950. The Human Group New York: Harcourt Brace [Google Scholar]
  79. Hopton R. 2007. Pistols at Dawn: A History of Duelling London: Portrait [Google Scholar]
  80. Hume D. 1888 (1739). A Treatise of Human Nature: Being an Attempt to Introduce the Experimental Method of Reasoning into Moral Subjects Selby-Bigge LA. New York: Oxford Univ. Press [Google Scholar]
  81. Hurkens S. 1995. Learning by forgetful players. Games Econ. Behav. 11:304–29 [Google Scholar]
  82. Illinois Cooperative Extension Service 1995. Cooperative Extension Service Farm Leasing Survey. Dep. Agric. Consum. Econ., Coop. Ext. Serv., Univ. Ill. Champaign-Urbana
  83. Jindani S. 2014. A game-theoretic approach to dueling and other social norms. MPhilos. Thesis, Dep. Econ., Oxford Univ.
  84. Kahneman D, Tversky A, Slovic P. 1982. Judgment Under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press [Google Scholar]
  85. Kanazawa S, Still MC. 2001. The emergence of marriage norms: an evolutionary psychological perspective. See Hechter & Opp 2001, pp. 274–304 [Google Scholar]
  86. Kandori M. 1992. Social norms and community enforcement. Rev. Econ. Stud. 59:63–80 [Google Scholar]
  87. Kandori M, Mailath G, Rob R. 1993. Learning, mutation, and long-run equilibria in games. Econometrica 61:29–56 [Google Scholar]
  88. Kohler H-P. 1997. Learning in social networks and contraceptive choice. Demography 34:369–83 [Google Scholar]
  89. Kohler H-P. 2000. Fertility decline as a coordination problem. J. Dev. Econ. 63:231–63 [Google Scholar]
  90. Kohler H-P, Bereman JR, Watkins SC. 2001. The density of social networks and fertility decisions: evidence from South Nyanza District, Kenya. Demography 38:43–58 [Google Scholar]
  91. Kreindler GE, Young HP. 2013. Fast convergence in evolutionary equilibrium selection. Games Econ. Behav. 80:39–67 [Google Scholar]
  92. Kreindler GE, Young HP. 2014. Rapid innovation diffusion in social networks. PNAS 111:10881–88 [Google Scholar]
  93. Kritzer HM. 2004. Risks, Reputations, and Rewards: Contingency Fee Legal Practice in the United States Stanford, CA: Stanford Univ. Press [Google Scholar]
  94. Lewis D. 1969. Convention: A Philosophical Study Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press [Google Scholar]
  95. Liefbroer AC, Billari FC. 2010. Bringing norms back in: a theoretical and empirical discussion of their importance for understanding demographic behavior. Popul. Space Place 16:287–305 [Google Scholar]
  96. Lindbeck A, Nyberg S, Weibull J. 1999. Social norms and economic incentives in the welfare state. Q. J. Econ. 114:1–35 [Google Scholar]
  97. Mackie G. 1996. Ending footbinding and infibulation: a convention account. Am. Sociol. Rev. 61:999–1017 [Google Scholar]
  98. Mackie G, LeJeune J. 2009. Social dynamics of abandonment of harmful practices: a new look at the theory. Work. Pap. 9009-06, Innocenti Res. Cent., UNICEF, Florence
  99. Mallaby S. 2010. More Money Than God London: Bloomsbury [Google Scholar]
  100. Manski C. 1993. Identification of endogenous social effects: the reflection problem. Rev. Econ. Stud. 60:531–42 [Google Scholar]
  101. McFadden D. 1974. Conditional logit analysis of qualitative choice behavior. Frontiers in Econometrics Zarembka P. 105–42 New York: Academic [Google Scholar]
  102. Mill JS. 1848. Principles of Political Economy London: Longmans Green [Google Scholar]
  103. Moffitt RA. 2001. Policy interventions, low-level equilibria, and social interactions. See Durlauf & Young 2001, pp. 45–82 [Google Scholar]
  104. Monderer D, Shapley LS. 1996. Potential games. Games Econ. Behav. 14:124–43 [Google Scholar]
  105. Montgomery MR, Casterline JB. 1996. Social influence, social learning, and new models of fertility. Popul. Dev. Rev. 22:151–75 [Google Scholar]
  106. Munshi K, Myaux J. 2006. Social norms and the fertility transition. J. Dev. Econ. 80:1–38 [Google Scholar]
  107. Myers RJ. 1973. Bismarck and the retirement age. The Actuary, April
  108. Myerson R, Weibull J. 2015. Tenable strategy blocks and settled equilibria. Econometrica In press [Google Scholar]
  109. Nash J. 1950. The bargaining problem. Econometrica 18:155–62 [Google Scholar]
  110. Nicolaides P. 2014. Tax compliance, social norms and institutional quality: an evolutionary theory of public good provision. Tax. Pap. 46-2014, Eur. Comm.
  111. North DC. 1990. Institutions, Institutional Change, and Economic Performance. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press
  112. Nye RA. 1993. Masculinity and Codes of Male Honor in Modern France New York: Oxford Univ. Press [Google Scholar]
  113. Odell RT, Oschwald WR. 1970. Productivity of Illinois soils. Circ. 1016, Coll. Agric. Coop. Ext. Serv., Univ. Ill., Urbana-Champaign
  114. Phelps CE, Mooney C. 1993. Variations in medical practice use: causes and consequences. Competitive Approaches to Health Care Reform Arnould RJ, Rich RF, White W. 139–78 Washington, DC: Urban Inst. [Google Scholar]
  115. Platteau J-P. 2000. Institutions, Social Norms, and Economic Development New York: Routledge [Google Scholar]
  116. Posner EA. 2000. Law and Social Norms Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press [Google Scholar]
  117. Putnam RD. 1993. Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press [Google Scholar]
  118. Robertson AF. 1987. The Dynamics of Productive Relationships: African Share Contracts in Comparative Perspective Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press [Google Scholar]
  119. Saez-Marti M, Weibull JW. 1999. Clever agents in Young’s bargaining model. J. Econ. Theory 86:268–79 [Google Scholar]
  120. Samuelson L. 1997. Evolutionary Games and Equilibrium Selection Cambridge, MA: MIT Press [Google Scholar]
  121. Sandholm W. 2010. Population Games and Evolutionary Dynamics Cambridge, MA: MIT Press [Google Scholar]
  122. Schelling TC. 1960. The Strategy of Conflict Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press [Google Scholar]
  123. Schelling TC. 1978. Micromotives and Macrobehavior New York: Norton [Google Scholar]
  124. Skyrms B. 1996. Evolution of the Social Contract Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press [Google Scholar]
  125. Skyrms B. 2004. The Stag Hunt and the Evolution of Social Structure Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press [Google Scholar]
  126. Smith A. 1776. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations London: Strahan & Cadell [Google Scholar]
  127. Soumerai SB, McLaughlin TJ, Gurwitz JH, Guadagnoli E, Hauptman PJ et al. 1998. Effect of local medical opinion leaders on quality of care for acute myocardial infarction: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA 279:1358–63 [Google Scholar]
  128. Stiglitz JE. 1974. Incentives and risk sharing in sharecropping. Rev. Econ. Stud. 41:219–55 [Google Scholar]
  129. Sugden R. 1986. The Economics of Rights, Cooperation and Welfare Oxford: Basil Blackwell [Google Scholar]
  130. Sunstein CR. 1996. Social norms and social roles. Columbia Law Rev. 96:903–68 [Google Scholar]
  131. Tabellini G. 2008. Institutions and culture. J. Eur. Econ. Assoc. 6:255–94 [Google Scholar]
  132. Ullmann-Margalit E. 1977. The Emergence of Norms New York: Oxford Univ. Press [Google Scholar]
  133. Vega-Redondo F. 1996. Evolution, Games, and Economic Behavior New York: Oxford Univ. Press [Google Scholar]
  134. Wennberg J, Gittelsohn A. 1973. Small area variations in health care delivery. Science 182:1102–8 [Google Scholar]
  135. Wennberg J, Gittelsohn A. 1982. Variations in medical care among small areas. Sci. Am. 182:1102–8 [Google Scholar]
  136. Wenzel M. 2004. An analysis of norm processes in tax compliance. J. Econ. Psychol. 25:213–28 [Google Scholar]
  137. Wenzel M. 2005. Motivation or rationalization? Causal relations between ethics, norms, and tax compliance. J. Econ. Psychol. 26:491–508 [Google Scholar]
  138. Young HP. 1993a. The evolution of conventions. Econometrica 61:57–84 [Google Scholar]
  139. Young HP. 1993b. An evolutionary model of bargaining. J. Econ. Theory 59:145–68 [Google Scholar]
  140. Young HP. 1995. The economics of convention. J. Econ. Perspect. 10(2):105–22 [Google Scholar]
  141. Young HP. 1998a. Conventional contracts. Rev. Econ. Stud. 65:773–92 [Google Scholar]
  142. Young HP. 1998b. Individual Strategy and Social Structure: An Evolutionary Theory of Institutions Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press [Google Scholar]
  143. Young HP. 2009. Innovation diffusion in heterogeneous populations: contagion, social influence, and social learning. Am. Econ. Rev. 99:1899–924 [Google Scholar]
  144. Young HP. 2011. The dynamics of social innovation. PNAS 108:21285–91 [Google Scholar]
  145. Young HP, Burke MA. 2001. Competition and custom in economic contracts: a case study of Illinois agriculture. Am. Econ. Rev. 91:559–73 [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-economics-080614-115322
Loading
/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-economics-080614-115322
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Review Article
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error