Do voluntary commitment mechanisms improve welfare? The effect of mandatory and voluntary oaths in a social dilemma

We investigate whether oaths can enforce property rights in a social dilemma and increase welfare. We examine the impact of mandatory and voluntary oaths in a laboratory experiment where individuals can produce wealth, protect accumulated wealth, and take wealth from others. Individuals are more productive when oaths are mandatory compared to a no-oath environment. Subjects’ voluntary signing oaths behave similarly to those who sign a mandatory oath. When the oath is voluntary, nonoath-taking individuals engage in nonproductive behavior, negating the positive impact from the voluntary oath. Our results show that altering commitment mechanisms can result in varying welfare levels.     

地方本科院校公共管理类人才培养困境和质量提升——基于实习和择业意愿的调查

地方本科院校的公共管理类应用型人才培养中面临着 “应用性”缺乏实践性平台支撑或支撑不足的困境，导致学生对专业实习满意度不高，择业意愿存在一定偏差，难以实现人才培养的目标。需要建设新的实践教学平台，充分利用和完善已有实践教学平台的功能，以专业实习为基础开发应用性课程，贯通理论性课程，让实践性课程和理论性课程融合，共同发挥育人的作用，提升公共管理类应用型人才的培养质量。