Sustaining cooperation through self-sorting The good, the bad, and the conditional

• Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 116; no. 12; pp. 5299 - 5304
• Main Authors: Hauge, Karen Evelyn, Brekke, Kjell Arne, Nyborg, Karine, Lind, Jo Thori
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States National Academy of Sciences 19.03.2019
• Subjects: COLLOQUIUM PAPERS; Cooperation; Sackler on Economics, Environment, and Sustainable Development; Social Sciences; conditional cooperation; corporate social responsibility; voluntary contributions; altruism; public goods

In four public-good game experiments, we study self-sorting as a means to facilitate cooperation in groups. When individuals can choose to join groups precommitted to charity, such groups sustain cooperation toward the group’s local public good. By eliciting subjects’ conditional contribution profil...