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Threshold-Level Public Goods Provision with Multiple Units: Experimental Effects of Disaggregated Groups with Rebates

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  • Pengfei Liu
  • Stephen K. Swallow
  • Christopher M. Anderson

Abstract

We introduce two institutions that provide multiple public good units, assuming that a market-maker has the ability to establish groups of contributors. We set up an experiment where either all N individuals form one group to provide two units (aggregated approach), or divide the N participants into two groups, and each group provides one unit separately, with all individuals benefiting from any unit(s) provided (disaggregated approach). Our results show that the disaggregated approach produces higher contributions on average. We also find that the rebate of excess contributions has a larger influence in increasing contribution under the aggregated approach.

Suggested Citation

  • Pengfei Liu & Stephen K. Swallow & Christopher M. Anderson, 2016. "Threshold-Level Public Goods Provision with Multiple Units: Experimental Effects of Disaggregated Groups with Rebates," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 92(3), pages 515-533.
    • Handle: RePEc:uwp:landec:v:92:y:2016:i:3:p:515-533
    Note: DOI: 10.3368/le.92.3.515
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    Cited by:

    1. Li, Zhi & Liu, Pengfei & Swallow, Stephen K., 2017. "Supporting Private Provision of Ecosystem Services through Contracts: Evidence from Lab and Field Experiments," 2018 Allied Social Sciences Association (ASSA) Annual Meeting, January 5-7, 2018, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 266300, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    2. Zhi Li & Dongsheng Chen & Pengfei Liu, 2023. "Assurance payments on the coordination of threshold public goods provision: An experimental investigation," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 25(2), pages 407-436, April.
    3. Zhi Li & Pengfei Liu & Stephen K. Swallow, 2021. "Assurance Contracts to Support Multi-Unit Threshold Public Goods in Environmental Markets," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 80(2), pages 339-378, October.
    4. An, Yonghong & Hu, Yingyao & Liu, Pengfei, 2018. "Estimating heterogeneous contributing strategies in threshold public goods provision: A structural analysis," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 124-146.
    5. Swallow, Stephen K. & Anderson, Christopher M. & Uchida, Emi, 2018. "The Bobolink Project: Selling Public Goods From Ecosystem Services Using Provision Point Mechanisms," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 236-252.
    6. Raphael Boleslavsky & Bruce Carlin & Christopher Cotton, 2019. "Disincentive Effects of Evaluation," Working Paper 1410, Economics Department, Queen's University.
    7. Luca Corazzini & Christopher Cotton & Tommaso Reggiani, 2020. "Delegation and coordination with multiple threshold public goods: experimental evidence," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 23(4), pages 1030-1068, December.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D71 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Social Choice; Clubs; Committees; Associations
    • H41 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Public Goods

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