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On the Impact of Risky Private and Public Returns in the Private Provision of Public Goods - The Case of Social Investments

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  • Jana Freundt
  • Andreas Lange

Abstract

We use a laboratory experiment to identify the impact of risk in the private and public dimensions of social investments. In variants of a public good game, we separate the return a subject’s investment generates for herself vs. the return to others. We find a detrimental effect of risk on public good provision when returns in both dimensions are risky and positively correlated or independent. A negative correlation limits the downside risk and leads to more stable social investments. Disentangling the impact of risk in the two dimensions, we find that investments particularly respond to the risk in the public return dimension.

Suggested Citation

  • Jana Freundt & Andreas Lange, 2019. "On the Impact of Risky Private and Public Returns in the Private Provision of Public Goods - The Case of Social Investments," CESifo Working Paper Series 7458, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_7458
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    Cited by:

    1. Bergantino, Angela Stefania & Morone, Andrea & Gil Gallen, Sara, 2020. "Do risk and competition trigger conditional cooperative behavior? Evidence from Public good experiment," MPRA Paper 104465, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Zack Dorner & Steven Tucker & Gazi Hassan, 2021. "A veil of ignorance: uncertain and ambiguous individual productivity supports stable contributions to a public good," Working Papers in Economics 21/01, University of Waikato.
    3. Angela Stefania Bergantino & Sara Gil‐Gallen & Andrea Morone, 2023. "Do risk and competition trigger conditional cooperation? Evidence from public good experiments," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 94(1), pages 39-73, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    social investments; public goods; giving under risk; correlated risks;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • D64 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Altruism; Philanthropy; Intergenerational Transfers
    • 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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