eprintid: 33250
rev_number: 20
eprint_status: archive
userid: 3114
dir: disk0/00/03/32/50
datestamp: 2023-05-15 14:06:34
lastmod: 2023-05-17 18:37:45
status_changed: 2023-05-15 14:06:34
type: workingPaper
metadata_visibility: show
creators_name: Goeschl, Timo
creators_name: Soldà, Alice
title: (Un)Trustworthy Pledges and Cooperation in Social Dilemmas
subjects: ddc-330
divisions: i-181000
keywords: social dilemmas, pre-play communication; pledges
cterms_swd: cooperation
cterms_swd: credibility
cterms_swd: group formation
abstract: Pledges feature in international climate cooperation since the 2015 Paris Agreement. We explore how differences in pledgers' trustworthiness affect outcomes in a social dilemma that parallels climate change. In an online experiment, two participants interact with a randomly matched third player in a repeat maintenance game with a pledge stage. Treatments vary whether participants are matched with a player that is more or less trustworthy as revealed by behavior in a promise-keeping game; and whether they observe that trustworthiness. We find that participants knowingly matched with more trustworthy players cooperate more than participants matched with less trustworthy players (knowingly or unknowingly), but also more than participants unknowingly matched with more trustworthy players. In contrast, participants knowingly matched with less trustworthy players do not cooperate less than participants who are unknowingly so. Our findings suggest that the use of pledges, as per the Paris Agreement, can leverage the power of trustworthiness to enhance cooperation.
date: 2023
id_scheme: DOI
id_number: 10.11588/heidok.00033250
schriftenreihe_cluster_id: sr-3
schriftenreihe_order: 0728
ppn_swb: 184565370X
own_urn: urn:nbn:de:bsz:16-heidok-332501
language: eng
bibsort: GOESCHLTIMUNTRUSTWOR20230505
full_text_status: public
series: Discussion Paper Series / University of Heidelberg, Department of Economics
volume: 0728
place_of_pub: Heidelberg
pages: 52
citation:   Goeschl, Timo ; Soldà, Alice  (2023) (Un)Trustworthy Pledges and Cooperation in Social Dilemmas.  [Working paper]     
document_url: https://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/33250/7/Goeschl_Solda_Untrustworthy_Pledges_2023.pdf