equally in groups of optimal size and there is no communication. The assignment of individuals to groups as either strangers … or partners does not significantly affect this outcome. In this paper we investigate whether communication changes these … results. Communication reduces shirking, increases aggregate effort and reduces aggregate rents, but only when communication …

-binding communication (‘cheap talk’). It is based on two key ideas: People are conditionally averse to break norms of honesty and fairness … intended play, (b) why details of the communication protocol like the number of message senders and the order in which players …

communication. It is based on two key intuitions. First, players suffer a utility cost if they break norms of honesty and fairness … concern for norms. We show that a model based on honesty norms alone cannot explain why pre-play communication fosters … other predictions of the model, offering experimental evidence in line with them – e.g., the effect of communication on …