Altruism can be understood in a behavioral or in a psychological sense. Motivationally, altruism is the desire to enhance the welfare of others at a net welfare loss to oneself. Behaviorally, altruism is any act that could have resulted from altruistic motivations. The economic literature shows...

In this paper we argue that social norms are emergent orders, and that when they work well they function as invisible hands, leading each person to act in ways that inadvertently promote social welfare. While coercively enforced laws can achieve similar ends, we argue that lawmakers are apt to...