Inequality, role reversal and cooperation in multiple group membership settings
Experimental Economics, forthcoming
56 Pages Posted: 19 Mar 2018 Last revised: 28 Jan 2021
Date Written: March 4, 2019
Abstract
We investigate the role of endowment inequality in a local and global public goods setting with multiple group membership and examine the effect of temporal role reversal on cooperation decisions. Subjects can contribute to a global public good which benefits all subjects and two local public goods which benefit only subjects of either their own group or the group of the other endowment type. Endowment inequality per-se decreases contributions of subjects with a high endowment to the global good, but increases cooperation of subjects with a low endowment on their local public good, thereby aggravating income disparities. Exogenously induced role reversal for several periods affects cooperation behavior of subjects with a high endowment positively and induces them to contribute more to the global good. Cooperation in unequal environments thus appears to be more stable when all parties have experienced the public goods game from the disadvantageous perspective.
Keywords: Voluntary contribution; public goods, inequality; role reversal; perspective change; experimental economics;
JEL Classification: C91, C92, D62, D63, D64, H91
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation