Public Good Provision with a Governor

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Anwar, Chowdhury Mohammad Sakib, Matros, Alexander, SenGupta, Sonali
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2022
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author Anwar, Chowdhury Mohammad Sakib
Matros, Alexander
SenGupta, Sonali
author_facet Anwar, Chowdhury Mohammad Sakib
Matros, Alexander
SenGupta, Sonali
contents We study a public good game with N citizens and a Governor who allocates resources from a common fund. Citizens may voluntarily contribute or be compelled to do so if audited, in which case shirkers face a penalty. The Governor decides how much of the fund to devote to public good provision, with the remainder embezzled. Crucially, the Governor's utility combines material payoffs from embezzlement with belief-dependent reputational concerns. We fully characterize the symmetric subgame perfect equilibria (SSPE) of the game. The model always admits at least one pure-strategy equilibrium, ranging from universal free-riding with complete embezzlement to full contribution with efficient provision. Mixed-strategy equilibria exist only in a narrow region of parameter values and may involve multiple equilibria. Our analysis highlights the roles of penalties, audits, and reputational incentives in sustaining contribution and provision, thereby linking public good provision with the broader literature on corruption, embezzlement, and psychological game theory.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2210_10642
institution arXiv
publishDate 2022
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Public Good Provision with a Governor
Anwar, Chowdhury Mohammad Sakib
Matros, Alexander
SenGupta, Sonali
Theoretical Economics
We study a public good game with N citizens and a Governor who allocates resources from a common fund. Citizens may voluntarily contribute or be compelled to do so if audited, in which case shirkers face a penalty. The Governor decides how much of the fund to devote to public good provision, with the remainder embezzled. Crucially, the Governor's utility combines material payoffs from embezzlement with belief-dependent reputational concerns. We fully characterize the symmetric subgame perfect equilibria (SSPE) of the game. The model always admits at least one pure-strategy equilibrium, ranging from universal free-riding with complete embezzlement to full contribution with efficient provision. Mixed-strategy equilibria exist only in a narrow region of parameter values and may involve multiple equilibria. Our analysis highlights the roles of penalties, audits, and reputational incentives in sustaining contribution and provision, thereby linking public good provision with the broader literature on corruption, embezzlement, and psychological game theory.
title Public Good Provision with a Governor
topic Theoretical Economics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2210.10642