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The bioeconomic causes of war

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  • Jack Hirshleifer

    (Department of Economics, University of California, Los Angeles, Bunche 2263, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1477, USA)

Abstract

Wars are fought not only for material goals but for intangible ends such as honor and prestige. In biological terms the ultimate functional motives for fighting are food and sex, the essential elements of reproductive success. Like many other animals, humans seek food and sex directly, but also indirectly via dominance and prestige. In modern times the direct food and sex motives for warfare have waned. But, although largely disconnected from reproductive success, intangible goals such as prestige, dominance, and respect-amplified by the 'affiliative instinct'-remain with us as continuing causes of war. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Suggested Citation

  • Jack Hirshleifer, 1999. "The bioeconomic causes of war," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 19(7-8), pages 457-466.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:mgtdec:v:19:y:1999:i:7-8:p:457-466
    DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1099-1468(199811/12)19:7/8<457::AID-MDE897>3.0.CO;2-H
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Anderton, Charles H., 1995. "Economics of arms trade," Handbook of Defense Economics, in: Keith Hartley & Todd Sandler (ed.), Handbook of Defense Economics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 18, pages 523-561, Elsevier.
    2. Polachek Solomon W., 1999. "Conflict and Trade: An Economics Approach to Political International Interactions," Peace Economics, Peace Science, and Public Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 5(2), pages 1-32, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Enrico Spolaore & Romain Wacziarg, 2016. "War and Relatedness," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 98(5), pages 925-939, December.
    2. Satoshi Kanazawa, 2004. "The Savanna Principle," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(1), pages 41-54.
    3. Thomas Gries & Claus-Jochen Haake, 2016. "An Economic Theory of 'Destabilization War'," Working Papers CIE 95, Paderborn University, CIE Center for International Economics.
    4. Hausken, Kjell, 2006. "Jack Hirshleifer: A Nobel Prize left unbestowed," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 251-276, June.
    5. Björn Gehrmann, 2019. "Third-party diplomacy," HiCN Working Papers 312, Households in Conflict Network.
    6. Kshetri, Nir, 2005. "Pattern of global cyber war and crime: A conceptual framework," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 11(4), pages 541-562, December.
    7. Chengguang Li & Ilgaz Arikan & Oded Shenkar & Asli Arikan, 2020. "The impact of country-dyadic military conflicts on market reaction to cross-border acquisitions," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 51(3), pages 299-325, April.
    8. Arce, Daniel G. & Sandler, Todd, 2009. "Fitting in: Group effects and the evolution of fundamentalism," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 31(5), pages 739-757, September.
    9. Gries, Thomas & Haake, Claus-Jochen, 2016. "An Economic Theory of 'Destabilization War' '- Compromise for Peace versus Conventional, Guerilla, or Terrorist Warfare," VfS Annual Conference 2016 (Augsburg): Demographic Change 145617, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    10. Gehrmann, Björn, 2019. "Krieg, Frieden und Mediation - eine wettkampftheoretische Perspektive [War, Peace and Mediation - a Contest Theory Perspective]," MPRA Paper 93645, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. William F. Shughart, 2011. "Terrorism in Rational Choice Perspective," Chapters, in: Christopher J. Coyne & Rachel L. Mathers (ed.), The Handbook on the Political Economy of War, chapter 8, Edward Elgar Publishing.

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