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  4. Fall 1997
  5. Classroom Games: Voluntary Provision of a Public Good

Journal of Economic Perspectives

ISSN 0895-3309 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7965 (Online)

Classroom Games: Voluntary Provision of a Public Good

  • Charles A. Holt
  • Susan K. Laury
Journal of Economic Perspectives
vol. 11, no. 4, Fall 1997
(pp. 209–215)
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Abstract

This paper describes a simple public goods game, implemented with playing cards in a classroom setup. Students choose whether to contribute to the provision of a public good in a situation where it is privately optimal not to contribute, but socially optimal to contribute fully. This exercise motivates discussion of altruism, strategies for private fund-raising, and the role of government in resolving the public good problem.

Citation

Holt, Charles A., and Susan K. Laury. 1997. "Classroom Games: Voluntary Provision of a Public Good." Journal of Economic Perspectives, 11 (4): 209–215. DOI: 10.1257/jep.11.4.209

JEL Classification

  • H41 Public Goods
  • D64 Altruism
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