Biology · Game theory

Large scale cooperation

Investigates the mechanisms that allow cooperation to scale beyond small kin groups to large anonymous societies — a central puzzle for evolutionary theory and political philosophy alike.

Research questions

What institutional structures allow large-scale cooperation to stabilize? Can norms and punishment evolve endogenously at scale? How does population structure interact with group size?

Methods

N-player public goods game with evolving norms and punishment mechanisms. Network topology experiments across varying population scales in MASON.

Status

Active — working paper in progress.