Responsibility to Punish: Discouraging Free-Riders in Public Goods Games |
| |
Authors: | Zack Devlin-Foltz Katherine Lim |
| |
Institution: | (1) Macalester College, Saint Paul, MN, USA |
| |
Abstract: | This study employs a public goods game in which participants can punish each other for free-riding. This paper examines the
motivation for punishment behavior when the situation is such that a rational individual will not punish. This paper predicts
and finds evidence for the punishment of free-ridership, even when not punishing is the profit-maximizing strategy. Specifically,
this paper finds participants will punish more when designated the sole punisher for a group, than when all group members
are allowed to punish. This result implies that those individuals who punish for non-rational reasons often free-ride on each
others’ punishment. Accordingly, the study suggests individual responsibility is important for ensuring the strength of institutions
aimed at punishing selfish behavior.
|
| |
Keywords: | Public goods Punishment Free-rider |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |