In the past decade, there has been a surge of interest in using games derived from experimental economics to test decision-making behaviour across species. In most cases, researchers are using the games as a tool, for instance, to understand what factors influence decision-making, how decision-making differs across species or contexts, or to ask broader questions about species’ propensities to cooperate or compete. These games have been quite successful in this regard. To what degree, however, do these games tap into species' economic decision-making? For the purpose of understanding the evolution of economic systems in humans, this is the key question. To study this, we can break economic decision-making down into smaller components, each of which is a potential step in the evolution of human economic behaviour. We can then use data from economic games, which are simplified, highly structured models of decision-making and therefore ideal for the comparative approach, to directly compare these components across species and contexts, as well as in relation to more naturalistic behaviours, to better understand the evolution of economic behaviour and the social and ecological contexts that influenced it. The comparative approach has successfully informed us about the evolution of other complex traits, such as language and morality, and should help us more deeply understand why and how human economic systems evolved.

This article is part of the theme issue ‘Existence and prevalence of economic behaviours among non-human primates’.

在过去十年中，人们对使用源自实验经济学的博弈来测试跨物种的决策行为的兴趣激增。在大多数情况下，研究人员将游戏用作一种工具，例如，了解哪些因素会影响决策，决策在物种或环境之间有何不同，或者就物种合作或竞争的倾向提出更广泛的问题。这些游戏在这方面相当成功。然而，这些游戏在多大程度上利用了物种的经济决策？为了了解人类经济系统的演变，这是关键问题。为了研究这一点，我们可以将经济决策分解成更小的部分，每一个部分都是人类经济行为演变的潜在步骤。然后，我们可以使用经济博弈中的数据，这些数据是简化的、高度结构化的决策模型，因此非常适合比较方法，直接比较跨物种和背景的这些组成部分，以及与更自然的行为相关的内容，以更好地了解经济行为的演变以及影响它的社会和生态环境。比较方法成功地让我们了解了其他复杂特征的演变，例如语言和道德，并且应该帮助我们更深入地理解人类经济系统为什么以及如何演变。更好地了解经济行为的演变以及影响它的社会和生态环境。比较方法成功地让我们了解了其他复杂特征的演变，例如语言和道德，并且应该帮助我们更深入地理解人类经济系统为什么以及如何演变。更好地了解经济行为的演变以及影响它的社会和生态环境。比较方法成功地让我们了解了其他复杂特征的演变，例如语言和道德，并且应该帮助我们更深入地理解人类经济系统为什么以及如何演变。

本文是主题“非人类灵长类动物经济行为的存在和流行”的一部分。