Dresden 2009 – scientific programme

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AGSOE: Arbeitsgruppe Physik sozio-ökonomischer Systeme

AGSOE 17: Networks: From Topology to Dynamics II

AGSOE 17.3: Talk

Thursday, March 26, 2009, 11:15–11:45, BAR 205

Patterns of cooperation — •Anne-Ly Do and Thilo Gross — Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden

We propose a simple model for the formation of cooperation networks among self-interested agents. It bases on the continuous snowdrift game, a paradigmatic approach to cooperation studied by different disciplines, but replaces non-directional cooperativeness by the ability of humans to maintain different levels of cooperation with different, self-chosen partners. The model reproduces and provides a rationale for well known phenomena from biology, anthropology, sociology, politics, and economics. Its twofold nature opens rich potentialities for the analytical treatment: The underlying differential equations allow for a stability analysis by means of dynamical systems theory. The discrete nature of the evolving network enable the application of graph theoretical tools. All told makes the model a promising candidate for a unified framework for phenomena from several disciplines.