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Detecting motives for cooperation in public goods experiments

Author

Listed:
  • Takafumi Yamakawa

    (Osaka University)

  • Yoshitaka Okano

    (School of Economics and Management, Kochi University of Technology)

  • Tatsuyoshi Saijo

    (School of Economics and Management, Kochi University of Technology)

Abstract

This study clarifies the types of motives that are important as a source of cooperation in a linear public goods experiment. Our experimental design separates the contributions due to confusion, one-shot motives (which includes altruism, warm-glow, inequality aversion, and conditional cooperation), and multi-round motives (which includes a strategic motive under incomplete information, a failure of backward induction, and reciprocity). The experiment reveals that multi-round motives plays an important role in driving cooperative behavior. Confusion and one-shot motives play a minor role.

Suggested Citation

  • Takafumi Yamakawa & Yoshitaka Okano & Tatsuyoshi Saijo, 2015. "Detecting motives for cooperation in public goods experiments," Working Papers SDES-2015-15, Kochi University of Technology, School of Economics and Management, revised Mar 2015.
    • Handle: RePEc:kch:wpaper:sdes-2015-15
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    2. Yoav Wachsman, 2018. "Intragroup Communication in a Public Goods Experiment with Nested Exchanges," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 38(4), pages 2217-2224.
    3. Victor Klockmann & Alicia von Schenk & Marie Claire Villeval, 2021. "Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, and Diffused Pivotality," Working Papers halshs-03237453, HAL.
    4. Tatsuki Homma & Ryosuke Iba & Junyi Shen & Takuma Wakayama & Hirofumi Yamamura & Takehiko Yamato, 2022. "The pivotal mechanism versus the voluntary contribution mechanism: an experimental comparison," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 58(3), pages 429-505, April.
    5. Marion Dupoux, 2017. "Beyond perfect substitutability in public good games: heterogeneous structures of preferences," Working Papers 2017.21, FAERE - French Association of Environmental and Resource Economists.
    6. Antoni Bosch-Domènech & Joaquim Silvestre, 2017. "The role of frames, numbers and risk in the frequency of cooperation," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 64(3), pages 245-267, September.
    7. Raymundo M. Campos-Vazquez & Luis A. Mejia, 2016. "Does corruption affect cooperation? A laboratory experiment," Latin American Economic Review, Springer;Centro de Investigaciòn y Docencia Económica (CIDE), vol. 25(1), pages 1-19, December.
    8. March, Christoph, 2021. "Strategic interactions between humans and artificial intelligence: Lessons from experiments with computer players," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    9. Jouxtel, Justine, 2019. "Voluntary contributions of time: Time-based incentives in a linear public goods game," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 75(PA).
    10. Cox, Caleb A. & Stoddard, Brock, 2018. "Strategic thinking in public goods games with teams," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 31-43.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Cooperation; Motives; Public goods;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C72 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Noncooperative Games
    • C92 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Group Behavior
    • H41 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Public Goods

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