| Publications [#325841] of Huseyin Yildirim
Journal Articles
- YILDIRIM, H, Getting the Ball Rolling: Voluntary Contributions to a Large-Scale Public Project,
Journal of Public Economic Theory, vol. 8 no. 4
(October, 2006),
pp. 503-528
(last updated on 2024/04/24)
Abstract: This paper
examines dynamic voluntary contributions to a large-scale project. In
equilibrium, contributions are influenced by the interplay of two opposing
incentives. While agents prefer to free ride on others for contributions,
they also prefer to encourage others to contribute by increasing their
own. Main findings of the paper are that (1) agents increase their
contributions as the project moves forward; (2) as additional agents join
the group, existing agents increase their contributions in the initial
stages of the project while reducing them in the stages close to
completion; (3) groups that are formed by more patient agents and that
undertake larger projects tend to be larger; and (4) groups that rely on
voluntary contributions tend to be too small compared to the social
optimum. The empirical evidence on contributions to open-source software
projects provides partial support for these findings. Copyright 2006 Blackwell Publishing, Inc..
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