Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/129833 
Year of Publication: 
2015
Series/Report no.: 
CeDEx Discussion Paper Series No. 2015-04
Publisher: 
The University of Nottingham, Centre for Decision Research and Experimental Economics (CeDEx), Nottingham
Abstract: 
We study the effects of voluntary participation on public good provision. Voluntary participation may foster cooperation through two mechanisms: an entry mechanism, which leads to assortative selection of interaction partners, or an exit mechanism, whereby the opportunity to leave the partnership can be used as a means to resist exploitation by free-riders. We examine the relative effectiveness of these two mechanisms in a one-shot, two-person public goods game experiment. We find that voluntary participation has a positive effect on public good provision through the exit mechanism, but we do not find evidence of a positive effect of entry. Assortative selection of interaction partners seems to play a minor role in our setting, whereas the threat of costly exit is a powerful force to discipline free-riding.
Subjects: 
public goods
cooperation
voluntary participation
exit
entry
experiment
JEL: 
C91
D02
H41
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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