Scientific research programs have a life cycle consisting of a sequence of overlapping subprograms. Each subprogram works within set boundaries, driven by the internal logic of its theoretical and empirical puzzles; outside of the boundaries lie the blind spots of the subprogram. Over time,...

Self-interested individuals pursue their goals rationally taking into account the constraints imposed by their environment and best-responding to the strategic behavior of other individuals: when applied to collective action, economic theory predicts undersupply. Meanwhile, the behavior of...

A social planner finances a public good by taxing the consumption of two private goods. If leisure cannot be taxed, the tax burden is minimized by setting the tax rates on the two goods inversely proportional to their price elasticities of demand (Ramsey rule). The authors replace the social...

In this article, the author extends the basic repeated prisoners' dilemma to allow for the linkage of punishment strategies across issues (issue linkage) as well as decentralized third-party enforcement (player linkage). The concepts of issue and player linkage are then synthesized to develop...