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Leadership and motivation for public goods contributions
Author(s) -
McCan Bryan C.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
scottish journal of political economy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.4
H-Index - 46
eISSN - 1467-9485
pISSN - 0036-9292
DOI - 10.1111/sjpe.12151
Subject(s) - public good , public goods game , matching (statistics) , microeconomics , economics , selection (genetic algorithm) , social psychology , psychology , computer science , statistics , mathematics , artificial intelligence
Results from a leader–follower public goods game are presented. An individual, when randomly selected to make a contribution knowing others will observe the selection, gives more than in the simultaneous‐move public goods game. Followers adopt a quasi‐matching strategy where they systematically donate less than the leader, but contribute more when the leader does and contribute less when the leader free rides. The net result is increased provision of a public good when contributions are sequential. The results highlight that psychological preferences, rather than solely social preferences, can explain behavior.