Not Just Babble: A Voluntary Contribution Experiment with Iterative Numerical Messages
Brown University Department of Economics Paper No. 2005-05
47 Pages Posted: 18 May 2005
Date Written: July 27, 2004
Abstract
When subjects can make non-binding announcements of possible contributions to a public good numerically, there is no effect on average level of contributions in a public goods experiment relative to play without announcements. But a detailed analysis of this experiment shows that pre-play announcements increased the variance of achieved cooperation among groups, leading both to more highly cooperative groups and to more thoroughly uncooperative groups than in a treatment without announcements. We also add a treatment in which subjects can select a statement of (non-binding) "promise" to contribute a certain amount and we find that even though subjects were instructed that promise statements were not binding, the ability to issue them significantly increased both contributions and earnings in a treatment that includes costly punishment opportunities, although not in a treatment without punishment.
Keywords: Public goods, collective action, communication, punishment, cheap talk
JEL Classification: C91, H41, D23
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
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