Gradualism in Coordination and Trust Building
Contributors: Madrian, Brigitte; Chetty, Raj; Bohnet, Iris; Alesina, Alberto
Published: 2012
Language: eng
Description: Coordination and cooperation on public projects, as well as trust among society members are important for economic, social and political activities. This dissertation presents essays on the role of gradualism - increasing the stakes of projects slowly over time rather than starting with large-stake projects immediately - in coordination and trust building under various settings. The first two essays are on simultaneous coordination games when there are multiple equilibria in the one-shot game; the third essay is on sequential trust games when the only subgame perfect equilibrium in the one-shot game predicts that no cooperation occurs at all.
Notes: Keywords: Coordination, Gradualism, Laboratory Experiment, Public Goods, Trust, Trustworthiness.

Thesis Ph.D. Harvard University 2012