Yes, I’ll do it: A large-scale experiment on the volunteer’s dilemma

Anita Kopányi-Peuker

Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), 2019, vol. 80, issue C, 211-218

Abstract: This research investigates the effects of the group size and the magnitude of the volunteering cost in a controlled large-scale laboratory experiment, where subjects play the volunteer’s dilemma only once. The experiment varies group sizes ranging from groups of 3 to about 100, and 2 different cost/benefit ratios. Results show that high cost reduces volunteering probability only in the smallest groups, but not for other group sizes. Furthermore, I find non-monotonic group size effect on the individual volunteering decisions. These findings are compared to the predictions produced by symmetric mixed-strategy Nash equilibrium, procedural rationality and quantal response equilibrium.

Keywords: Volunteer’s dilemma; Coordination; Group size; Large-scale experiment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C72 C92 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:soceco:v:80:y:2019:i:c:p:211-218

DOI: 10.1016/j.socec.2019.04.004

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