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Public goods game with ambiguous threshold

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  • Kishishita, Daiki
  • Ozaki, Hiroyuki

Abstract

Various collective action problems can be described as a discrete public goods game with a threshold. In this game, players may be reluctant to contribute to the provision of public goods when the threshold value is uncertain. We derive equilibria when players face ambiguity (i.e., Knightian uncertainty) on the threshold value by using Choquet expected utility. Furthermore, we show that in a class of neo-additive capacities, an increase in ambiguity decreases the equilibrium maximal number of contributors, irrespective of players’ ambiguity-attitudes. This contrasts to what McBride (2006) shows when the probability distribution is known.

Suggested Citation

  • Kishishita, Daiki & Ozaki, Hiroyuki, 2020. "Public goods game with ambiguous threshold," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:191:y:2020:i:c:s0165176520301282
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2020.109165
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Chateauneuf, Alain & Eichberger, Jurgen & Grant, Simon, 2007. "Choice under uncertainty with the best and worst in mind: Neo-additive capacities," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 137(1), pages 538-567, November.
    2. Nishimura, Kiyohiko G. & Ozaki, Hiroyuki, 2004. "Search and Knightian uncertainty," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 119(2), pages 299-333, December.
    3. Ralph W. Bailey & Jürgen Eichberger & David Kelsey, 2005. "Ambiguity and Public Good Provision in Large Societies," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 7(5), pages 741-759, December.
    4. David Kelsey & Sara Le Roux, 2017. "Dragon Slaying with Ambiguity: Theory and Experiments," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 19(1), pages 178-197, February.
    5. Johan Rockström & Will Steffen & Kevin Noone & Åsa Persson & F. Stuart Chapin & Eric F. Lambin & Timothy M. Lenton & Marten Scheffer & Carl Folke & Hans Joachim Schellnhuber & Björn Nykvist & Cynthia , 2009. "A safe operating space for humanity," Nature, Nature, vol. 461(7263), pages 472-475, September.
    6. Eichberger, Jurgen & Kelsey, David, 2002. "Strategic Complements, Substitutes, and Ambiguity: The Implications for Public Goods," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 106(2), pages 436-466, October.
    7. Schmeidler, David, 1989. "Subjective Probability and Expected Utility without Additivity," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 57(3), pages 571-587, May.
    8. Astrid Dannenberg & Andreas Löschel & Gabriele Paolacci & Christiane Reif & Alessandro Tavoni, 2015. "On the Provision of Public Goods with Probabilistic and Ambiguous Thresholds," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 61(3), pages 365-383, July.
    9. Gama, Adriana & Rietzke, David, 2019. "Monotone comparative statics in games with non-monotonic best-replies: Contests and Cournot oligopoly," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 823-841.
    10. McBride, Michael, 2006. "Discrete public goods under threshold uncertainty," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(6-7), pages 1181-1199, August.
    11. Kiyohiko G. Nishimura & Hiroyuki Ozaki, 2017. "Economics of Pessimism and Optimism," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-4-431-55903-0, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. Islam Md Tawhidul & Kenta Tanaka & Koji Kotani, 2025. "Sharing Information and Threshold Ambiguity in Public Bads Prevention," World, MDPI, vol. 6(1), pages 1-17, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Collective action; Public goods; Ambiguity; Choquet expected utility;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C70 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - General
    • D81 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty
    • H41 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Public Goods

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