Can the Red Queen Hypothesis Help Us Understand Future Population Trends?

Some biologists have observed a close connection between game theory and evolution theory. Indeed, game theory allow biologists and economists to predict the outcome of some evolutionary processes. According to the Red Queen Hypothesis (Van Valen 1973), every species is a priori equally likely to get extinguished, regardless of the time during which it has existed. Each species is part of a zero-sum game against other species. This hypothesis refers to a kind of evolutionary arms race, where players constantly evolve together. We will consider its relevance for demographic development. Just as rat races among financial engineers can lead to a financial crisis (Aoki 2010) and competition without ceiling among lawyers can produce the bankruptcy of a law firm (Landers et al 1996), biotechnological competition can produce environmental crises. We will address these issues with the models of the theory of noncooperative games (arms races, rat races, etc).