Preferencias sociales y egoísmo racional

Abstract

Experimental economics provides evidence that social preferences drive human cooperation in the lab, but the dominant microeconomic model of a rational agent, Homo oeconomicus, denies such preferences. Assuming the evidence is cogent, what follows for the claim that humans cooperate on the basis of rational egoism? I describe three possible answers: 1) social preferences are backup mechanisms for rational egoism; 2) social preferences are required to remedy for imperfect rationality; and 3) social preferences are the primary motives for cooperation, because rational egoism does not recommend cooperation in the iterated prisoner's dilemma with imperfect or private information. I argue for option 3): rational egoists without social preferences see deception and coercion as rational options.