Asymmetric Enforcement of Cooperation in a Social Dilemma
University of Melbourne Economics Working Paper No. 982
36 Pages Posted: 11 Jan 2007 Last revised: 1 Dec 2008
There are 2 versions of this paper
Asymmetric Enforcement of Cooperation in a Social Dilemma
Asymmetric Enforcement of Cooperation in a Social Dilemma
Date Written: December 1, 2008
Abstract
We use a public-good experiment to analyze behavior in a decentralized asymmetric punishment institution. The institution is asymmetric in the sense that players differ in the effectiveness of their punishment. At the aggregate level, we observe remarkable similarities between outcomes in asymmetric and symmetric punishment institutions. Controlling for the average punishment effectiveness of the institutions, we find that asymmetric punishment institutions are as effective in fostering cooperation and as efficient as symmetric institutions. At the individual level, we find that players with higher punishment effectiveness contribute similar amounts to the public account, but have higher earnings and punish more than their weak counterparts.
Keywords: Asymmetry, decentralized punishment, public good, punishment effectiveness
JEL Classification: C92, D70, H41
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
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