Behavioral and Brain Sciences

Table of Contents - February 2012 - Volume 35, Issue 01  

Open Peer Commentary

Weak reciprocity alone cannot explain peer punishment

Marco Casaria1

a1 Department of Economics, University of Bologna, Piazza Scaravilli 2, 40126 Bologna, Italy. marco.casari@unibo.it http://www2.dse.unibo.it/casari/

Abstract

The claims about (1) the lack of empirical support for a model of strong reciprocation and (2) the irrelevant empirical role of costly punishment to support cooperation in the field need qualifications. The interpretation of field evidence is not straightforward, and other-regarding preferences are also likely to play a role in the field.

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