Environments with public goods present a serious challenge even to skilled experimentalists and many opportunities for imaginative work.Ĭontemporary political theory often assumes that individuals cannot make credible commitments where substantial temptations exist to break them unless such commitments are enforced by an external agent. The many factors interact with each other in unknown ways. The reader will find that the public goods environment is a very sensitive one with much that can affect outcomes but are difficult to control.

In order to help those new to experimental work I have tried to focus on specific experimental designs in Section 2 and on general results and knowledge in Section 3. In Section 3, I look at the range of experimental research which tries to identify and study those factors which increase cooperation. In Section 2, I look at the fundamental question: are people selfish or cooperative in volunteering to contribute to public good production? We look at five important early experiments that have laid the foundations for much that has followed.

In Section 1, I describe a very simple public good experiment - what it is, what some theories predict, what usually happens, and why we should care - and then provide a methodological and theoretical background for the rest of the chapter. In this chapter I will look at one small but fundamental part of the rapidly expanding experimental research. Environments with public goods are a wonderful playground for those interested in delicate experimental problems, serious theoretical challenges, and difficult mechanism design issues.

Tate james anarchy