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Economic Games Among the Amazonian Tsimane: Exploring the Roles of Market Access, Costs of Giving, and Cooperation on Pro-Social Game Behavior

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  • Michael Gurven

Abstract

This paper reports the results of the Ultimatum Game (UG), Dictator Game (DG) and Public Goods Game (PGG) played among the Tsimane, a group of forager-horticulturalists living in the Bolivian Amazon. Game results differ significantly from those commonly reported among modern, westernized populations. Without a long history of anonymous interactions, it is highly suspect whether the Tsimane or other traditional populations play economic games under assumptions of anonymity and one-shot exposure. Employing a behavioral ecology framework, I test predictions that differential market exposure, costs of giving, and experience with cooperation can help explain much of the variance in game outcomes. While these factors sometimes act as important predictors of game behavior, the most significant predictor is village membership. Implications for understanding the role of markets, frequent interaction with strangers, and payoffs to cooperation in daily life can help us better understand cross-cultural variation in pro-social behavior. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers 2004

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  • Michael Gurven, 2004. "Economic Games Among the Amazonian Tsimane: Exploring the Roles of Market Access, Costs of Giving, and Cooperation on Pro-Social Game Behavior," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 7(1), pages 5-24, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:expeco:v:7:y:2004:i:1:p:5-24
    DOI: 10.1023/A:1026256404208
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    1. Godoy, Ricardo A. & Leonard, William R. & Reyes-Garcia, Victoria & Goodman, Elizabeth & McDade, Thomas & Huanca, Tomas & Tanner, Susan & Vadez, Vincent, 2006. "Physical stature of adult Tsimane' Amerindians, Bolivian Amazon in the 20th century," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 4(2), pages 184-205, June.
    2. Thorsten Chmura & Christoph Engel & Markus Englerth & Thomas Pitz, 2010. "At the Mercy of the Prisoner Next Door. Using an Experimental Measure of Selfishness as a Criminological Tool," Discussion Paper Series of the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods 2010_27, Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods.
    3. Godoy, Ricardo & Byron, Elizabeth & Reyes-García, Victoria & Vadez, Vincent & Leonard, William R. & Apaza, Lilian & Huanca, Tomás & Pérez, Eddy & Wilkie, David, 2005. "Income inequality and adult nutritional status: Anthropometric evidence from a pre-industrial society in the Bolivian Amazon," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 61(5), pages 907-919, September.
    4. Bouma, Jetske & Reyes-García, Victoria & Huanca, Tomas & Arrazola, Susana, 2017. "Understanding conditions for co-management: A framed field experiment amongst the Tsimane’, Bolivia," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 32-42.
    5. Antonio Cabrales, 2010. "The causes and economic consequences of envy," SERIEs: Journal of the Spanish Economic Association, Springer;Spanish Economic Association, vol. 1(4), pages 371-386, September.
    6. Gurven, Michael & Zanolini, Arianna & Schniter, Eric, 2008. "Culture sometimes matters: Intra-cultural variation in pro-social behavior among Tsimane Amerindians," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 67(3-4), pages 587-607, September.
    7. Barham, James & Chitemi, Clarence, 2008. "Collective action initiatives to improve marketing performance: Lessons from farmer groups in Tanzania," CAPRi working papers 74, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    8. Napitupulu, Lucentezza & Bouma, Jetske & Reyes-García, Victoria, 2018. "The Things We Share: Sharing in Daily Life and Experimental Settings Among Punan Tubu, Indonesian Borneo," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 88-97.
    9. Anderies, John M. & Janssen, Marco A. & Bousquet, François & Cardenas, Juan-Camilo & Castillo, Daniel & Lopez, Maria-Claudio & Tobias, Robert & Vollan, Björn & Wutich, Amber, 2011. "The challenge of understanding decisions in experimental studies of common pool resource governance," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(9), pages 1571-1579, July.

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