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Endowment inequality in public goods games: A re-examination

Author

Listed:
  • Shaun P. Hargreaves Heap

    (King's College London)

  • Abhijit Ramalingam

    (University of East Anglia)

  • Brock V. Stoddard

    (University of South Dakota)

Abstract

We present a clean test of whether inequality in endowments affects contributions to a public good. It is a clean test because, to our knowledge, it is the first to control for possible endowment effects. We find that the key adverse effect of inequality arises because the rich reduce their contributions when there is inequality.

Suggested Citation

  • Shaun P. Hargreaves Heap & Abhijit Ramalingam & Brock V. Stoddard, 2016. "Endowment inequality in public goods games: A re-examination," Working Paper series, University of East Anglia, Centre for Behavioural and Experimental Social Science (CBESS) 16-10R, School of Economics, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK..
    • Handle: RePEc:uea:wcbess:16-10
    as

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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jennifer Zelmer, 2003. "Linear Public Goods Experiments: A Meta-Analysis," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 6(3), pages 299-310, November.
    2. R. Mark Isaac & James M. Walker, 1988. "Group Size Effects in Public Goods Provision: The Voluntary Contributions Mechanism," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 103(1), pages 179-199.
    3. Cherry, Todd L. & Kroll, Stephan & Shogren, Jason F., 2005. "The impact of endowment heterogeneity and origin on public good contributions: evidence from the lab," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 57(3), pages 357-365, July.
    4. Anderson, Lisa R. & Mellor, Jennifer M. & Milyo, Jeffrey, 2008. "Inequality and public good provision: An experimental analysis," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 1010-1028, June.
    5. Urs Fischbacher, 2007. "z-Tree: Zurich toolbox for ready-made economic experiments," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 10(2), pages 171-178, June.
    6. Hargreaves Heap, Shaun P. & Ramalingam, Abhijit & Ramalingam, Siddharth & Stoddard, Brock V., 2015. "‘Doggedness’ or ‘disengagement’? An experiment on the effect of inequality in endowment on behaviour in team competitions," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 80-93.
    7. Buckley, Edward & Croson, Rachel, 2006. "Income and wealth heterogeneity in the voluntary provision of linear public goods," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(4-5), pages 935-955, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    public goods; experiment; inequality; wealth; cooperation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • C92 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Group Behavior
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • H41 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Public Goods

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