Evolutionary Game Theory - Further Application

Further Application

The successful application of game theory to evolution has brought further insights to human behavior. Whereas game theory traditionally assumes rational actors, in the real world this does not always describe human behavior. EGT has predicted behaviors in animals where strong assumptions of rationality cannot be made. An important feature of all these sets of models under the umbrella of evolutionary game theory is repetition. If the games were not repeated, these EGT models would not be able to provide any insight into adaptive behaviors and strategies due to the dynamic nature of the mechanisms of evolution. Further, this biological application is meaningful for economics because it provides an understanding of the adjustments that occur between two equilibria (Samuelson 2002). While game theory provides a framework within which biologists can learn and understand organisms, the observation of evolution and how these strategies are applied helps economics illuminate processes. It is interesting to note however, that Maynard Smith himself never felt that the use of Evolutionary Game theory in the field of economics was quite relevant.