Report

The Economics of Altruistic Punishment and the Demise of Cooperation

Author(s) / Creator(s)

Egas, Martijn
Riedl, Arno

Abstract / Description

Explaining the evolution and maintenance of cooperation among unrelated individuals is one of the fundamental problems in biology and the social sciences. Recent experimental evidence suggests that altruistic punishment is an important mechanism to maintain cooperation among humans. In this paper we explore the boundary conditions for altruistic punishment to maintain cooperation by systematically varying the cost and impact of punishment, using a subject pool which extends beyond the standard student population. We find that the economics of altruistic punishment lead to the demise of cooperation when punishment is relatively expensive and/or has low impact. Our results indicate that the 'decision to punish' comes from an amalgam of emotional response and cognitive costbenefit analysis. Additionally, earnings are lowest when punishment promotes cooperation, suggesting that the scope for altruistic punishment as a means to maintain cooperation is limited.

Keyword(s)

Altruismus Strafe Kollektiv Experiment Altruismus Strafe Kollektiv Experiment altruistic punishment collective action public goods internet experiment

Persistent Identifier

Date of first publication

2005

Is part of series

Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit/ Institute for the Study of Labor: IZA Discussion Paper Series;1646

Citation

  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Egas, Martijn
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Riedl, Arno
  • PsychArchives acquisition timestamp
    2022-11-17T11:01:30Z
  • Made available on
    2008-06-30
  • Made available on
    2015-12-01T10:32:16Z
  • Made available on
    2022-11-17T11:01:30Z
  • Date of first publication
    2005
  • Abstract / Description
    Explaining the evolution and maintenance of cooperation among unrelated individuals is one of the fundamental problems in biology and the social sciences. Recent experimental evidence suggests that altruistic punishment is an important mechanism to maintain cooperation among humans. In this paper we explore the boundary conditions for altruistic punishment to maintain cooperation by systematically varying the cost and impact of punishment, using a subject pool which extends beyond the standard student population. We find that the economics of altruistic punishment lead to the demise of cooperation when punishment is relatively expensive and/or has low impact. Our results indicate that the 'decision to punish' comes from an amalgam of emotional response and cognitive costbenefit analysis. Additionally, earnings are lowest when punishment promotes cooperation, suggesting that the scope for altruistic punishment as a means to maintain cooperation is limited.
    en
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bsz:291-psydok-16670
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11780/1147
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.8882
  • Language of content
    eng
  • Is part of
    IZA Discussion Paper Series No. 1646
  • Is part of series
    Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit/ Institute for the Study of Labor: IZA Discussion Paper Series;1646
  • Keyword(s)
    Altruismus
    de
  • Keyword(s)
    Strafe
    de
  • Keyword(s)
    Kollektiv
    de
  • Keyword(s)
    Experiment
    de
  • Keyword(s)
    Altruismus
    de
  • Keyword(s)
    Strafe
    de
  • Keyword(s)
    Kollektiv
    de
  • Keyword(s)
    Experiment
    de
  • Keyword(s)
    altruistic punishment
    en
  • Keyword(s)
    collective action
    en
  • Keyword(s)
    public goods
    en
  • Keyword(s)
    internet experiment
    en
  • Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)
    150
  • Title
    The Economics of Altruistic Punishment and the Demise of Cooperation
    en
  • DRO type
    report
  • Visible tag(s)
    PsyDok