Voluntary contributions with redistribution: The effect of costly sanctions when one person's punishment is another's reward

Talbot Page, Louis Putterman and Bruno Garcia

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2013, vol. 95, issue C, 34-48

Abstract: We introduce new treatments of a voluntary contribution mechanism with opportunities to punish in order to see how contributions, punishments and earnings change when punishment is in the form of fines the punisher distributes to other members of her group. The linked punishment-reward set up is of theoretical interest and could represent simultaneous shifts of social disapproval and approval. Conjectures that punishment will be better targeted, and that it will be more substantial for given deviation from others’ contributions, receive support. Making punishment redistributive increases contributions and efficiency, even after netting out the design's free resource element.

Keywords: Public goods; Collective action; Experiment; Punishment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C91 D30 H41 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:95:y:2013:i:c:p:34-48

DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2013.08.006

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