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On the (in)effectiveness of rewards in sustaining cooperation

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  • Jana Vyrastekova
  • Daan van Soest

Abstract

We study the effectiveness of costly rewards in mitigating excess extraction in a standard Common Pool Resource (CPR) game experiment. We implement two treatments. In the first, rewards are a pure transfer from one player to the other. In the second, the benefits of receiving a reward are higher than the cost of providing it. Referring to the latter as “net positive” rewards, we observe that these are used more frequently than transfer rewards, and that, unlike transfer rewards, they are effective in sustaining cooperation in the CPR game. Copyright Economic Science Association 2008

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  • Jana Vyrastekova & Daan van Soest, 2008. "On the (in)effectiveness of rewards in sustaining cooperation," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 11(1), pages 53-65, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:expeco:v:11:y:2008:i:1:p:53-65
    DOI: 10.1007/s10683-006-9153-x
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    7. Noussair, C.N. & van Soest, D.P., 2014. "Economic Experiments and Environmental Policy : A Review," Discussion Paper 2014-001, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    8. Vyrastekova, Jana & Funaki, Yukihiko, 2018. "Cooperation in a sequential dilemma game: How much transparency is good for cooperation?," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 88-95.
    9. Andreas Leibbrandt & Raúl López-Pérez, 2014. "Different carrots and different sticks: do we reward and punish differently than we approve and disapprove?," Theory and Decision, Springer, vol. 76(1), pages 95-118, January.
    10. Stoop, Jan & van Soest, Daan & Vyrastekova, Jana, 2018. "Rewards and cooperation in social dilemma games," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 300-310.
    11. Stoop, J.T.R., 2011. "Laboratory and field experiments on social dilemmas," Other publications TiSEM ef87e914-f8be-49d8-b98b-4, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
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