Investors and exploiters in ecology and economics: principles and applications

In the natural world, some agents employ strategies that provide resources, services, or information while others achieve gain through these efforts.

Such behavior coexists and is observable in many species at many levels: from bacteria which depend on the existence of biofilms to synthesize constituent proteins; to cancerous cells which employ angiogenesis in tumors; to parents who forego vaccinating their children yet benefit from herd immunity; to countries' actions in the handling of greenhouse gases.

To analyze such behaviour, two independent research traditions have developed in parallel-one couched in evolutionary theory championed by behavioral ecologists, the other in the social sciences advocated by economists.

This work looks for commonalities in understanding and approach, in an effort to spur research into this widespread phenomenon.