2008/01/01 by H. Peyton Young · 35 citations
Decision Sciences · Psychology · Social Sciences · #Economics #Epistemology #Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation #Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies #Function (biology) #Game Theory and Applications #Legal norm #Mathematical economics #Norm (philosophy) #Perception #Political science #Property (philosophy) #Psychology #Social dynamics #Social psychology #Social science #Sociology
paper · doi:10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_2338-1
published in The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 1-7
openalex publication_date 2008/01/01 · openalex created_date 2022/05/12 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/14
The function of a social norm is to coordinate people’s expectations in interactions that possess multiple equilibria. Norms govern a wide range of phenomena, including property rights, contracts, bargains, forms of communication, and concepts of justice. Norms impose uniformity of behaviour within a given social group, but often vary substantially among groups. Over time norm shifts may occur, prompted either by changes in objective circumstances or by subjective changes in perceptions and expectations. The dynamics of this process can be modelled using evolutionary game theory, which predicts that some norms are more stable than others in the long run.