Altruism and Voluntary Provision of Public Goods

M. Dowling, O. Hall, L. Ma and Katerina Sherstyuk

No 760, Department of Economics - Working Papers Series from The University of Melbourne

Abstract: We study how people's predisposition towards altruism, as measured by tools developed by psychologists, affects their behaviour in a voluntary contributions public good environment. Earlier experiments provide evidence against the strong free rider hypothesis; however, contributions to the public good decrease with repetition. We investigate whether a high level of contributions can be sustained in groups of subjects who have been pre-selected on the basis of their altruistic inclinations. In the first stage of the experiment, each subject responds to a psychology questionnaire that measures various dimensions of one's personality. The subjects are then matched in groups according to their altruism scores, and engage in a voluntary contribution game. We consider whether the levels and dynamics of group contributions differ significantly between the groups with altruists and non-altruists. We find that subjects' altruism has a weak but positive effect on group behaviour in the public good game.

Keywords: PUBLIC OWNERSHIP; BEHAVIOUR; GAMES (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D64 H40 H41 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 13 pages
Date: 2000
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Altruism and voluntary provision of public goods (2002)
Working Paper: Altruism and Voluntary Provision of Public Goods (2000)
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