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An Experimental Inquiry into the Nature of Relational Goods, and Their Impact on Co-operation

Author

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  • Gianna Lotito

    (University of Eastern Piedmont)

  • Matteo Migheli

    (University of Torino
    CeRP - Collegio Carlo Alberto)

  • Guido Ortona

    (University of Eastern Piedmont)

Abstract

Our experiment studies the impact of two types of relational goods on the voluntary contributions for the production of a public good, i.e. acquaintance among the contributors and performance of a team work before the experiment. Our results show that: (1) both team work and previous acquaintance increase the average contribution to the public good, and (2) there is a relevant gender effect with women contributing more or less than men, depending on the treatment. Therefore, we conclude that both relational goods are important to enhance co-operation, that acquaintance and working together are rather complements than substitutes, and that different relational goods produce different effects on cooperation. Also, we find further evidence for women’s behaviour to be more context-specific than men’s.

Suggested Citation

  • Gianna Lotito & Matteo Migheli & Guido Ortona, 2015. "An Experimental Inquiry into the Nature of Relational Goods, and Their Impact on Co-operation," Group Decision and Negotiation, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 699-722, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:grdene:v:24:y:2015:i:4:d:10.1007_s10726-014-9409-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s10726-014-9409-3
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    Cited by:

    1. Bernard Guéry, 2018. "Bien relationnel et bien commun : une exploration cartographique aux frontières de la philosophie et de l'économie," Post-Print hal-02552196, HAL.
    2. Lotito, Gianna & Migheli, Matteo & Ortona, Guido, 2017. "Competition, Information and Cooperation," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis. Working Papers 201731, University of Turin.
    3. Gianna Lotito & Matteo Migheli & Guido Ortona, 2020. "Transparency, asymmetric information and cooperation," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 50(2), pages 267-294, October.
    4. Degli Antoni, Giacomo & Grimalda, Gianluca, 2016. "Groups and trust: Experimental evidence on the Olson and Putnam hypotheses," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 38-54.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Relational goods; Public goods; Experiments; Gender effect;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • D03 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Behavioral Microeconomics: Underlying Principles
    • H41 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Public Goods

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