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Simultaneous versus sequential public good provision and the role of refunds -- An experimental study

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  • Coats, Jennifer C.
  • Gronberg, Timothy J.
  • Grosskopf, Brit

Abstract

We experimentally study contributing behavior to a threshold public good under simultaneous and sequential voluntary contribution mechanisms and investigate how refund policies interact with the mechanism. We find that, for a given refund rule, efficiency is greater under a sequential contribution mechanism than under a simultaneous contribution mechanism. Furthermore, for a given order of contributions, we find that full refund unambiguously achieves higher efficiency in the simultaneous mechanism while this is not the case in the sequential mechanism.

Suggested Citation

  • Coats, Jennifer C. & Gronberg, Timothy J. & Grosskopf, Brit, 2009. "Simultaneous versus sequential public good provision and the role of refunds -- An experimental study," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(1-2), pages 326-335, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:93:y:2009:i:1-2:p:326-335
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    References listed on IDEAS

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