Survival of the fittest group: an empirical economic perspective on multilevel selection theory

Abstract

Evolutionary biologists are divided on whether natural selection, specifically related to the evolution of altruistic behaviour, takes place only at the individual or also at the group level. This study builds on the understanding of multilevel selection theory from an empirical economic perspective. Data from 33,557 communities in 39 countries in Africa are used in OLS regression models with fixed effects dummies to examine the relationship between 20-year community development and initial community equality. It is found that increases in years of education and women’s age of marriage are highest in communities where these outcomes are initially distributed equally. For education, this effect is strongest in communities with high child mortality rates. Furthermore, findings indicate that communities with high initial gender equality and low initial religious homogeneity show stronger increases in women’s age of marriage and education respectively. Our evidence provides support for a positive relationship between fitness growth and altruism at the group level, as hypothesized in multilevel selection theory. Economic policies aimed at promoting cooperation at the community level in developing countries could be effective to increase levels of community development.