Please cite this article as: Hargreaves Heap, S.P., Ramalingam, A., Stoddard, B.V., Endowment inequality in public goods games: A re-examination. Economics Letters (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10. 1016/j.econlet.2016.07.015 This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
Endowment inequality in public goods games:A re-examination
AbstractWe 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.JEL Codes: C91, C92, D31, D63, H41
We study framing effects in repeated social dilemmas by comparing payoff-equivalent Give-and Take-framed public goods games under varying matching mechanisms (Partners or Strangers) and levels of feedback (Aggregate or Individual). In the Give-framed game, players contribute to a public good, while in the Take-framed game, players take from an existing public good. The results show Take framing and Individual-level feedback lead to more extreme behavior (free-riding and full cooperation), especially for Partners. These results suggest Take framing and Individual-level feedback increase the variability of cooperation.
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