Resentment and the Evolution of Social Norms Governing Cooperation

Abstract

Sociologists and psychologists have long emphasized that social emotions are essential to sustain social norms. We develop a model of social norms of cooperation resting on 'resentment' that abstracts from a set of social emotions. We study norm selection in a stochastic dynamic that keeps track of the belief system of the society. We show that cooperation is not higher in local interactions than in global interactions; there are positive correlations between mobility, community size, cooperation level, and punishment of defectors; and the norms supporting cooperation are complementary to law enforcement.

Keywords: Social norms, cooperation, costly punishment, stochastic dynamics, stochastic stability, psychological game

JEL Classification: C73, D63, H41