Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/51682 
Year of Publication: 
2011
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 5556
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
This article experimentally examines voluntary contributions when group members' marginal returns to the public good vary. The experiment implements two marginal return types, low and high, and uses the information that members have about the heterogeneity to identify the applied contribution norm. If agents are aware of the heterogeneity, contributions increase in general. However, high types contribute more than low types when contributions can be linked to the type of the donor but contribute less otherwise. Low types, on the other hand, contribute more than high types when group members are aware of the heterogeneity but contributions cannot be linked to types. Our results underline the importance of the information structure when persons with different abilities contribute to a joint project, as in the context of teamwork or charitable giving.
Subjects: 
public goods
voluntary contribution mechanism
heterogeneity
information
norms
JEL: 
C9
H41
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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