<p>Kandori, Michihiro &amp; Mailath, George J &amp; Rob, Rafael, 1993. "Learning, Mutation, and Long Run Equilibria in Games," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 61(1), pages 29-56, January.</p>

<p>Young, H Peyton, 1993. "The Evolution of Conventions," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 61(1), pages 57-84, January.</p>

<p>I disagree with your assertion that EGT is seldom applied or that it has not been  influential.  Both of the papers referenced above appear in RePEc's list of the
top 1% of citations.</p>

<p>Allowing preferences to 'change' can generate just about any equilibrium you want, so the premise behind EGT is a tough sell in many economic models - not to say compelling research hasn't done so.  The bottom line is that it isn't a part of the atmosphere where mere mortals can tread.</p>

<p>EGT has, in fact, been applied to many problems in economics as well as those traditionally parsed by the other social sciences - particularly the evolution of social norms, political representation, voting, and distributive justice.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-02T15:42:50.477Z
2015-06-02T15:42:50.477Z
Matthew Friedman
<p>The concept of evolutionary game theory has been around for about forty years. The mathematical details are worked out quite well. Yet this discipline is usually a side note in game theory classes and is seldom applied in economics research. Have there been any papers in this field that are considered influential in economics?</p>

<p>To clarify: <br> There are a lot of papers about the connection of game theory and evolutionary game theory, but only a few that seek to apply evolutionary game theory to explain some economic phenomenon.</p>

<p>I know of <a href="https://homepage.univie.ac.at/Ana-Begona.Ania-Martinez/ems.pdf" rel="noreferrer">this</a> paper by Vega-Redondo and <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0167268189900759" rel="noreferrer">this</a> paper by Schaffer.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-15T20:34:43.533Z
Not to mention the work of Sam Bowles and Herb Gintis, the latter of whom has done great work reframing supposed behavioral paradoxes identified within behavioral economics as potentially adaptive behavior once you abandon the straw-person rational actor model for one rooted in evolutionary dynamics, whether cultural or genetic or both.
Brash Equilibrium
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-05-08T15:53:29.033Z
Also see "[Learning, mutation, and long-run equilibria in games](http://www.dklevine.com/archive/refs4500.pdf)".
NickJ
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-05-08T16:39:08.393Z
@NickJ Perhaps I should clarify:
There are a lot of papers about the connection of game theory and evolutionary game theory, but only a few that seek to apply evolutionary game theory to explain some economic phenomenon.
But the paper you linked is definitely useful, I will browse its references.
Giskard
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-05-08T19:26:00.203Z
I see, the only other thing that comes to mind right now is "[Do markets favor agents able to make accurate predictions?](http://www.nccr-finrisk.uzh.ch/media/pdf/Sandroni_Econometrica2000.pdf)", which asks whether biased investors will eventually lose all their money and be driven out of the market.
NickJ
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-05-10T04:40:16.700Z
I'm not sure what you're looking for, but it seems like any foundational EGT paper would qualify, the first coming to mind being "The Evolution of Cooperation" ([pdf](http://www-personal.umich.edu/~axe/research/Axelrod%20and%20Hamilton%20EC%201981.pdf)) by Axelrod and Hamilton (1981).
usul
<game-theory><reference-request>
Are there papers in evolutionary game theory that are influential in economics?
Giskard
# Are there papers in evolutionary game theory that are influential in economics?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-05-08)

The concept of evolutionary game theory has been around for about forty years. The mathematical details are worked out quite well. Yet this discipline is usually a side note in game theory classes and is seldom applied in economics research. Have there been any papers in this field that are considered influential in economics?

To clarify:   
 There are a lot of papers about the connection of game theory and evolutionary game theory, but only a few that seek to apply evolutionary game theory to explain some economic phenomenon.

I know of [this](https://homepage.univie.ac.at/Ana-Begona.Ania-Martinez/ems.pdf) paper by Vega-Redondo and [this](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0167268189900759) paper by Schaffer.

**Tags:** game-theory, reference-request

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: Also see "[Learning, mutation, and long-run equilibria in games](http://www.dklevine.com/archive/refs4500.pdf)".  
> **username_0**: @username_2 Perhaps I should clarify: There are a lot of papers about the connection of game theory and evolutionary game theory, but only a few that seek to apply evolutionary game theory to explain some economic phenomenon. But the paper you linked is definitely useful, I will browse its references.  
> **username_2**: I see, the only other thing that comes to mind right now is "[Do markets favor agents able to make accurate predictions?](http://www.nccr-finrisk.uzh.ch/media/pdf/Sandroni_Econometrica2000.pdf)", which asks whether biased investors will eventually lose all their money and be driven out of the market.  
> **username_3**: I'm not sure what you're looking for, but it seems like any foundational EGT paper would qualify, the first coming to mind being "The Evolution of Cooperation" ([pdf](http://www-personal.umich.edu/~axe/research/Axelrod%20and%20Hamilton%20EC%201981.pdf)) by Axelrod and Hamilton (1981).  
> **username_1**: Not to mention the work of Sam Bowles and Herb Gintis, the latter of whom has done great work reframing supposed behavioral paradoxes identified within behavioral economics as potentially adaptive behavior once you abandon the straw-person rational actor model for one rooted in evolutionary dynamics, whether cultural or genetic or both.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2015-06-02. Score: 9 | Accepted answer

Kandori, Michihiro & Mailath, George J & Rob, Rafael, 1993. "Learning, Mutation, and Long Run Equilibria in Games," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 61(1), pages 29-56, January.

Young, H Peyton, 1993. "The Evolution of Conventions," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 61(1), pages 57-84, January.

I disagree with your assertion that EGT is seldom applied or that it has not been influential. Both of the papers referenced above appear in RePEc's list of the
top 1% of citations.

Allowing preferences to 'change' can generate just about any equilibrium you want, so the premise behind EGT is a tough sell in many economic models - not to say compelling research hasn't done so. The bottom line is that it isn't a part of the atmosphere where mere mortals can tread.

EGT has, in fact, been applied to many problems in economics as well as those traditionally parsed by the other social sciences - particularly the evolution of social norms, political representation, voting, and distributive justice.


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