A new theory of how and why we cooperate, drawing from economics, political theory, and philosophy to challenge the conventional wisdom of game theory Game theory explains competitive behavior by working from the premise that people are self-interested. People don’t just compete, however; they also cooperate. John Roemer argues that attempts by orthodox game theorists to account for cooperation leave much to be desired. Unlike competing players, cooperating players take those actions that they would like others to take—which Roemer calls “Kantian optimization.” Through rigorous reasoning and modeling, Roemer demonstrates a simpler theory of cooperative behavior than the standard model provides.

How We Cooperate: A Theory of Kantian Optimization

Business & Money

Roemer, John E.

Economics

Yale University Press

First published in 2001. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Value, Exploitation and Class

Routledge

Analytical Foundations of Marxian Economic Theory

Professor Roemer's goal in this book is to give a rigorous view of classical Marxian economic theory by presenting specific analytic models. The theory is not extended to deal with new problems, but it is deepened: Marxian theory is given micro-foundations and upon those foundations the author begins to rebuild a tightly constructed Marxian economics. The book begins, after a methodological introduction, with an examination of the Marxian notion of equilibrium and the theory of exploitation, and goes on to deal with the theory of the falling rate of profit. The next section explores one of the points made in the first section of the book, that the Marxian theory of exploitation can be constructed completely independently of the labor theory of value as a theory of exchange. Technical study of this problem allows comment on various issues, such as the relative importance of "marginal utilities" and "class struggle" in determining relative prices. The final part examines models of various Marxian concepts.

Cambridge University Press

Professor Roemer's goal in this book is to give a rigorous view of classical Marxian economic theory by presenting specific analytic models. The theory is not extended to deal with new problems, but it is deepened: Marxian theory is given micro-foundations and upon those foundations the author begins to rebuild a tightly constructed Marxian economics. The book begins, after a methodological introduction, with an examination of the Marxian notion of equilibrium and the theory of exploitation, and goes on to deal with the theory of the falling rate of profit. The next section explores one of the points made in the first section of the book, that the Marxian theory of exploitation can be constructed completely independently of the labor theory of value as a theory of exchange. Technical study of this problem allows comment on various issues, such as the relative importance of "marginal utilities" and "class struggle" in determining relative prices. The final part examines models of various Marxian concepts.

This book presents fifteen essays, written over the past dozen years, that explore contemporary philosophical debates on egalitarianism, using the tools of modern economic theory, general equilibrium theory, game theory, and the theory of mechanism design. Egalitarian Perspectives is divided into four parts: the first part presents Roemer's influential reconceptualization of the Marxian theory of exploitation as a theory of distributive justice; the second part offers a critique of Ronald Dworkin's equality-of-resources theory; the third part introduces a novel application of the theory of mechanism design to the study of political philosophy; and the fourth part presents the author's views on market socialism and public ownership, and demonstrates that Professor Roemer is at the forefront of refining new theories and conceptions of market socialism.

Egalitarian Perspectives: Essays in Philosophical Economics

Democracy, Education, and Equality: Graz-Schumpeter Lectures (Econometric Society Monographs, Series Number 40)

Many believe that equality of opportunity will be achieved when the prospects of children no longer depend upon the wealth and education of their parents. Many also believe that democracy is the political institution that will bring about justice. This study asks whether democracy, modeled as competition between political parties that represent different interests in the polity, will result in educational funding policies that will, at least eventually, produce citizens with equal capacities (human capital), thus breaking the link between family background and child prospects.

Many believe that equality of opportunity will be achieved when the prospects of children no longer depend upon the wealth and education of their parents. Many also believe that democracy is the political institution that will bring about justice. This study asks whether democracy, modeled as competition between political parties that represent different interests in the polity, will result in educational funding policies that will, at least eventually, produce citizens with equal capacities (human capital), thus breaking the link between family background and child prospects.

Equality of Opportunity

John Roemer points out that there are two views of equality of opportunity that are widely held today. The first, which he calls the nondiscrimination principle, states that in the competition for positions in society, individuals should be judged only on attributes relevant to the performance of the duties of the position in question. Attributes such as race or sex should not be taken into account. The second states that society should do what it can to level the playing field among persons who compete for positions, especially during their formative years, so that all those who have the relevant potential attributes can be considered.
Common to both positions is that at some point the principle of equal opportunity holds individuals accountable for achievements of particular objectives, whether they be education, employment, health, or income. Roemer argues that there is consequently a "before" and an "after" in the notion of equality of opportunity: before the competition starts, opportunities must be equalized, by social intervention if need be; but after it begins, individuals are on their own. The different views of equal opportunity should be judged according to where they place the starting gate which separates "before" from "after." Roemer works out in a precise way how to determine the location of the starting gate in the different views.

Harvard University Press

Political Competition: Theory and Applications

In this book, John Roemer presents a unified and rigorous theory of political competition between parties. He models the theory under many specifications, including whether parties are policy oriented or oriented toward winning, whether they are certain or uncertain about voter preferences, and whether the policy space is uni- or multidimensional. He examines all eight possible combinations of these choice assumptions, and characterizes their equilibria.  He fleshes out a model in which each party is composed of three different factions concerned with winning, with policy, and with publicity. Parties compete with one another. When internal bargaining is combined with external competition, a natural equilibrium emerges, which Roemer calls party-unanimity Nash equilibrium.  Assuming only the distribution of voter preferences and the endowments of the population, he deduces the nature of the parties that will form. He then applies the theory to several empirical puzzles, including income distribution, patterns of electoral success, and why there is no labor party in the United States.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Roemer, John E.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Roemer, John E.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Roemer, John E.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

How We Cooperate: A Theory of Kantian Optimization

Value, Exploitation and Class

Analytical Foundations of Marxian Economic Theory

Analytical Foundations of Marxian Economic Theory

Egalitarian Perspectives: Essays in Philosophical Economics

Egalitarian Perspectives: Essays in Philosophical Economics

Democracy, Education, and Equality: Graz-Schumpeter Lectures (Econometric Society Monographs, Series Number 40)

Democracy, Education, and Equality: Graz-Schumpeter Lectures (Econometric Society Monographs, Series Number 40)

Equality of Opportunity

Political Competition: Theory and Applications