Ecological and economic systems are alike in that individual agents compete for limited resources, evolve their behaviors in response to interactions with others, and form exploitative as well as cooperative interactions as a result. In these complex adaptive systems, macroscopic properties like the flow patterns of resources like nutrients and capital emerge from large numbers of microscopic interactions, and feed back to affect individual behaviors. In such systems, common and fundamental phenomena arise- the interplay between microscopic and macroscopic phenomena, scaling laws, the potential for contagion and system risk, and the conflicts that arise in dealing with problems of the commons.
Results/Conclusions
This lecture will explore some common features of these systems, especially as they involve the evolution of cooperation in dealing with public goods, common pool resources and collective movement. It will draw on examples from bacteria and slime molds, as well as vertebrate groups, ultimately focusing on insurance arrangements in human societies, the role of social norms and international agreements on environmental issues.