Triadic Balance and Closure as Drivers of the Evolution of Cooperation

The prevalence of human cooperation continues to be one of the biggest puzzles for scientists. Structured interactions and clustering of cooperators are recognized mechanisms that help the dissemination of cooperative behavior. We analyze two dynamic micro structural mechanisms that may contribute to the evolution of cooperation. We concentrate on two mechanisms that have empirical justification: triadic closure and triadic balance. We study their relative efficiency under different parametric conditions, assuming that the structure of interactions itself might change endogenously as a result of previous encounters.