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Exploitation, Mutual Advantage and The Myth of the Samaritan's Dilemma

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  • Alain Marciano

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to illustrate a potential problem in Samaritan's dilemmas: that Samaritans have a vested interest in encouraging parasitism. In effect, they gain from their altruism. To demonstrate this result, we show that the Nash equilibrium in a Samaritan's dilemma is a Pareto superior outcome.

Suggested Citation

  • Alain Marciano, 2014. "Exploitation, Mutual Advantage and The Myth of the Samaritan's Dilemma," ICER Working Papers 10-2014, ICER - International Centre for Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:icr:wpicer:10-2014
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Altruism; Samaritan's dilemma; Exploitation; Cooperation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H84 - Public Economics - - Miscellaneous Issues - - - Disaster Aid
    • I3 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty

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