Can Generosity Save Cooperation? Evidence from a Cross-Cultural Public Goods Game

Last registered on February 14, 2024
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Can Generosity Save Cooperation? Evidence from a Cross-Cultural Public Goods Game
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0012713
Initial registration date
January 02, 2024

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
January 02, 2024, 11:23 AM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Last updated
February 14, 2024, 7:58 PM EST

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Country
Ghana
Region
Upper East Region
Country
United States of America
Region
Washington DC

Primary Investigator

Name
Richard Gallenstein
Affiliation
The Catholic University of America
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
John Paul Dougherty
PI Affiliation
Loyola University of Maryland
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2024-02-16
End date
2024-02-24
Keywords
Behavior
Additional Keywords
Public Goods Game
JEL code(s)
C92, D62, H41
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We conduct a series of dynamic public goods games in two locations, Ghana and the United States, to measure how unconditional cooperation (i.e. generosity) may crowd in cooperation. The key experimental intervention is that in half of the treatments, one participant in the four-player groups, employs an unconditional cooperation strategy, giving all of their endowment to the public good regardless of the behavior of their group members. By experimentally imposing this unconditional cooperation strategy, we are able to determine if such cooperative behavior crowds in cooperation from other group members. An additional treatment introduces inequality of initial endowments to explore whether the impact of unconditional cooperation differs under inequality.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Gallenstein, Richard and John Paul Dougherty. 2024. "Can Generosity Save Cooperation? Evidence from a Cross-Cultural Public Goods Game." AEA RCT Registry. February 14. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.12713-1.1
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We play a public goods game with three experimental variations. (1) We have treatments with and without initial endowment inequality (within-person variation), (2) we have treatments with and without inclusion of an unconditional cooperator (within-person variation), (3) participants will be randomly assigned to one of three categories where two categories with receive pro-social priming in a survey before the first treatment begins.
Intervention Start Date
2024-02-16
Intervention End Date
2024-02-24

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Individual contributions to the public good.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We will play a public goods game with 4 person groups. In each treatment, the PGG will be repeated 15 times. There will be 4 treatments. In Treatment 1, each participant starts with an equal initial endowment (40 Ghana Cedis for the Ghana sample, $20 for the US sample). In Treatment 2, there is equality of initial endowments but one group member will use an unconditional cooperation strategy, i.e. contributing the entirety of their initial endowment each round. Treatment 3 has inequality of initial endowments. Treatment 4 has inequality of initial endowments and one group member is an unconditional cooperator.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization is done in office by a computer.
Randomization Unit
The order of treatments will be randomized by session.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
Up to 700 subjects. (Up to 350 in Ghana and 350 in the US)
Sample size: planned number of observations
Up to 700 subjects. (Up to 350 in Ghana and 350 in the US)
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Up to 700 subjects. (Up to 350 in Ghana and 350 in the US)
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials

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IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Catholic University of America Institutional Review Board
IRB Approval Date
2023-09-07
IRB Approval Number
23-0052
Analysis Plan

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Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials