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Altruism and voluntary provision of public goods

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Author Info
Leanne Ma () (Department of Economics, University of Melbourne)
Katerina Sherstyuk () (Department of Economics, University of Hawaii)
Malcolm Dowling () (Department of Economics, University of Melbourne)
Oliver Hill () (Department of Psychology, Virginia State University)

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Abstract

We study how people's predisposition towards altruism affects their behavior in a voluntary contributions public good experiment. We investigate whether a high level of contributions can be sustained in groups of subjects who have been pre-selected on the basis of their altruistic inclinations. In the first stage of the experiment, each subject responds to a psychology questionnaire that measures various dimensions of one's personality. The subjects are then matched in groups according to their altruism scores, and engage in a voluntary contributions game. We consider whether the levels and dynamics of group contributions differ significantly between the groups with altruists and non-altruists. We find that subjects' altruism has only a weak positive effect on group behavior in the public good game.

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Publisher Info
Article provided by Economics Bulletin in its journal Economics Bulletin.

Volume (Year): 3 (2002)
Issue (Month): 31 ()
Pages: 1-8
Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Handle: RePEc:ebl:ecbull:v:3:y:2002:i:31:p:1-8

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Related research
Keywords: Altruism; Public Goods; Voluntary Contributions Mechanism;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
C9 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments
H4 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:

  1. repec:att:wimass:19939 is not listed on IDEAS
  2. Bohm, Peter, 1972. "Estimating demand for public goods: An experiment," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 3(2), pages 111-130. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Burks, Stephen V. & Carpenter, Jeffrey P. & Verhoogen, Eric, 2003. "Playing both roles in the trust game," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 51(2), pages 195-216, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Dowling, M. & Hall, O. & Ma, L. & Sherstyuk, K., 2000. "Altruism and Voluntary Provision of Public Goods," Department of Economics - Working Papers Series 760, The University of Melbourne. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  5. Offerman, Theo & Sonnemans, Joep & Schram, Arthur, 1996. "Value Orientations, Expectations and Voluntary Contributions in Public Goods," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 106(437), pages 817-45, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Ernst Fehr & Klaus M. Schmidt, 1999. "A Theory Of Fairness, Competition, And Cooperation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 114(3), pages 817-868, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  7. Palfrey, Thomas R & Prisbrey, Jeffrey E, 1997. "Anomalous Behavior in Public Goods Experiments: How Much and Why?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 87(5), pages 829-46, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Gary E. Bolton & Axel Ockenfels, 2000. "ERC: A Theory of Equity, Reciprocity, and Competition," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(1), pages 166-193, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Andreoni, James, 1995. "Cooperation in Public-Goods Experiments: Kindness or Confusion?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 85(4), pages 891-904, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Alexis Belianin & Marco Novarese, 2005. "Trust, communication and equlibrium behaviour in public goods," Experimental 0506001, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
  2. Kurtis J. Swope & John Cadigan & Pamela M. Schmitt & Robert S. Shupp, 2005. "Personality Preferences in Laboratory Economics Experiments," Working Papers 200507, Ball State University, Department of Economics, revised Jul 2005. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Leanne Ma & Katerina Sherstyuk & Malcolm Dowling & Oliver Hill, 2002. "Altruism and voluntary provision of public goods," Economics Bulletin, Economics Bulletin, vol. 3(31), pages 1-8. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
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