Behaviour in a two-stage public goods experiment

Part of : WSEAS transactions on business and economics ; Vol.10, No.2, 2013, pages 80-88

Issue:
Pages:
80-88
Author:
Abstract:
I investigate whether the adoption of a two-stage public goods framework causes a change in contributions to public goods compared to a standard public goods game. For this purpose, my first treatment (S) is a standard public goods game and represents the baseline treatment. The second treatment (D) is a two stage public goods game. In each stage, agents allocate their endowments between a private good and a public good. The results show that subjects contribute more to the public good in the S treatment than in the D treatment. In addition, agents under the D treatment evenly divide their limited endowments between both public goods, regardless of differences in the marginal per capita returns of the two goods.
Subject:
Subject (LC):
Keywords:
two-stage public goods game, experiments, voluntary provision
Notes:
Περιέχει σημειώσεις, διαγράμματα, πίνακα και βιβλιογραφία
References (1):
  1. [1] Cadigan, M., Wayland, P., Schimtt, P., Swope,K., An experimental dynamic public goodsgame with carryover, Journal of EconomicBehavior and Organization, Vol. 80, 2011, pp.523-531.[2] Cain, M., An experimental investigation ofmotives and information in the prisoner’sdilemma game, Advances in Group Processes,Vol. 15, 1998, pp. 133-160.[3] Silverstein, A., Cross, D., Brown, J., RachlinH., Prior experience and patterning in aprisoner’s dilemma game, Journal of BehavioralDecision Making, Vol. 11, 1998, pp. 123-138.[4] Albert, M., Guth, W., Kirchler, E.,Maciejovsky, B., Are we nice(r) to nice(r)people? An experimental analysis, Max-PlanckInstitute for Research into Economic Systems,Discussion Papers on Strategic Interaction,n°15-2002.[5] Chaudhuri, A., Sopher, B., Strand P.,Cooperation in social dilemmas, trust andreciprocity, Journal of Economic Psychology,Vol. 23, 2002, pp. 231-249.[6] Andreoni, J., Petrie, R., Public goodsexperiments without confidentiality: a glimpseinto fund-rising, Journal of Public Economics,Vol. 88, 2004, pp. 1605-1623.[7] Davis, D.D., and Holt, C.A., ExperimentalEconomics,Princeton University Press,Princeton, NJ, 1993.[8] Ledyard, J.O., Public Goods: a survey ofexperimental research, in Kagel, J.H., Roth,A.E. (Eds.), Handbook of ExperimentalEconomics, Princeton University Press,Princeton, NJ, 1995, pp. 111-194.[9] Muller L., Sefton, M., Steinberg R., VesterlundL., Strategic behavior and learning in repeatedvoluntary-contribution experiments, CeDExDiscussion Papers n° 2005-13, University ofNottingham.[10] Andreoni, J., Cooperation in public-goodsexperiments: kindness or confusion?, AmericanEconomic Review, Vol. 85,No.4, 1995, pp.891- 904.[11] Houser, D., Kurzban, R., Revisiting kindnessand confusion in public goods experiments,American Economic Review, Vol. 92, No. 4,2002, pp. 1062-1069.[12] Chan, K.S., Mestelman, S., Moir, R., Muller,A., The voluntary provision of public goodsunder varying income distribution, CanadianJournal of Economics, Vol. 29, 1996, pp. 54-69.[13] Chan, K.S., Mestelman, S., Moir, R., Muller,A., Heterogeneity and the voluntary provisionof public goods, Experimental Economics, Vol.2, 1999, pp. 5-30.[14] Zelmer, J., Linear public goods experiments: ameta-analysis, Experimental Economics, Vol. 6,No. 3, 1980, pp. 299-310.[15] Cherry T. L., Kroll, S., Shogren J. F., Theimpact of endowment heterogeneity and originon public good contributions: evidence from thelab, Journal of Economic Behavior andOrganization, Vol. 57, 2005, pp. 357-365.[16] Charness, G., Rabin, M., Understanding socialpreferences with simple tests, Quarterly Journalof Economics, Vol. 117, No. August, 2002, pp.817-869.[17] Croson, R., Theories of altruism andreciprocity: evidence from linear public goodsgames, Working Paper, The Wharton School,University of Pennsylvania, 1998.[18] Keser, C., van Winden, F., Conditionalcooperation and voluntary contributions,Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Vol. 102,No. 1, 2000, pp. 23-29.[19] Fischbacher, U., Gaecher, S., Fehr, E., Arepeople conditionally cooperative? Evidencefrom a public goods experiment. EconomicsLetters, Vol. 71, 2001, pp. 397-404.[20] Finocchiaro Castro, M., Cultural education andthe voluntary provision of cultural goods,International Review on Public and Non ProfitMarketing, Vol. 3, No. 1, 2006, pp. 67-79.[21] Brown-Kruse, J., Hummels, D., Gender effectsin laboratory public goods contribution: Doindividuals put their money where their mouthis?, Journal of Economic Behavior andOrganization Vol. 22, 1992, pp. 255-267.[22] Saijo, T., Nakamura, H., The “spite” dilemmain voluntary contribution mechanismexperiments, Journal of Conflict Resolution,Vol. 39, No. 3, 1995, pp. 535-560.[23] White, H., A heteroskedasticity-constantcovariance matrix estimation and a direct testfor heteroskedasticity, Econometrica, Vol. 48,No. 4, 1980, pp. 817-830.[24] Croson, R., Fatas, E., Neugebauer T.,Reciprocity, matching and conditionalcooperation in two public goods games,Economics Letters, Vol. 87, 2005, pp. 95-101.