SFB 303 Discussion Paper No. B-290

Author: Krelle, Wilhelm
Title: Ethics in a Market Economy
Abstract: It will be shown that for rational players with a sufficiently large time horizon it is advantageous to keep promises and not to cheat even if cheating is the optimal behaviour in the short run. This explains why ethics could develop in a market economy where incentives to cheat are ubiquitous.
Keywords: Ethics, cheating, promises, market, Game theory
JEL-Classification-Number: P00, P21, P27, E13, E61, H50
Creation-Date: August 1994

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