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Female competition, evolution, and the battle of the sexes

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  • Wooders, Myrna
  • van den Berg, Hugo

Abstract

As female primates carry and nurse the fetus, it naturally falls on them to rear the o¤spring. On the assumption that males are at least equally adept at obtaining food, it follows that they generate a surplus which they might either share with females or consume themselves. This choice lies at the heart of an evolutionary battle of the sexes. If females suceed in obtaining a large share of the surplus, there is little scope for size dimorphism between males and females; otherwise males can use the surplus to sustain larger and stronger bodies, which are advantageous in sexual competition with other males. Besides competing with males, females may compete with each other. Moreover, dependency may coincide with sexiness and such dependency can persist. This paper examines these ideas in a game-theoretic setting

Suggested Citation

  • Wooders, Myrna & van den Berg, Hugo, 2001. "Female competition, evolution, and the battle of the sexes," Economic Research Papers 269394, University of Warwick - Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:uwarer:269394
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.269394
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Myrna Wooders & Hugo van den Berg, 2001. "The battle of the sexes over the distribution of male surplus," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 3(17), pages 1-9.
    2. Robson, Arthur J & Wooders, Myrna, 1997. "On the Growth-Maximizing Distribution of Income," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 38(3), pages 511-526, August.
    3. Arthur J. Robson & Hillard S. Kaplan, 2003. "The Evolution of Human Life Expectancy and Intelligence in Hunter-Gatherer Economies," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(1), pages 150-169, March.
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    Labor and Human Capital; Public Economics;

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