A vast amount of empirical and theoretical research on public good games indicates that the threat of punishment can … curb free-riding in human groups engaged in joint enterprises. Since punishment is often costly, however, this raises an … investigations, so far, considered peer punishment: players could impose fines on those who exploited them, at a cost to themselves …

punishment. However, neither option is without cost. What is the tradeoff between these strategies? In this study, we introduce … an exogenous punishment mechanism that varies the probability and magnitude of punishment to examine this tradeoff. In … our punishment system, sanctions are imposed on the lowest contributor according to a predetermined probability rather …

Recent experiments have shown that voluntary punishment of free riders can increase contributions, mitigating the free … of voluntary punishment. In our experiment, allowing punishment of punishing behaviors reduces punishment of high … contributors, but gives rise to efficiency-reducing second-order “perverse†punishment. On balance, efficiency and contributions …

feel hostility towards free riders and enjoy inflicting harm on them, the incentives provided by the anticipated punishment … altruism attenuates the punishment motive and thus may reduce the level of punishment inflicted on defectors, resulting in … contribution costs and punishment costs. The range over which altruism inhibits cooperation and reduces material payoffs is greater …

We examine the impact of one-time threats of expulsion and punishment on voluntary contributions in a public goods game … additional threat of punishment increases the contributions of participants before the punishment vote. The literature shows that … punishment increases contributions with little impact on efficiency (57.1% versus 58.1%), and that standards for inclusion rise …

situation. In a laboratory experiment, subjects play a public good game with punishment in which feedback on actual … inflated beliefs about the contribution of others. This, in turn, impacts their contribution and punishment decisions. …

contributions, punishments and earnings change when punishment is in the form of fines the punisher distributes to other members of … her group. The linked punishment-reward set up is of theoretical interest and could represent simultaneous shifts of … social disapproval and approval. Conjectures that punishment will be better targeted, and that it will be more substantial …

vigilante justice, as represented by peer-to-peer punishment, to delegated policing, as represented by the “hired gun” mechanism …