ausblenden:
Schlagwörter:
War of attrition, volunteering, discrete public goods, asymmetric information, information acquisition
Zusammenfassung:
Private provision of public goods often takes place as a war of attrition:
individuals wait until someone else volunteers and provides the good. After a
certain time period, however, one individual may be randomly selected. If the
individuals are uncertain about their cost of provision, but can find out about this
cost ahead of the volunteering game, a strategic value is attached to the
information, and individuals may prefer not to learn their cost of provision. If the
time horizon is sufficiently short, in equilibrium only one individual may acquire
information about his cost. For a long time horizon, acquiring information is
strictly dominant. The time limit is an important instrument in influencing the efficiency of the volunteering game.
