The Spite Dilemma Experiment in Korea

Abstract

This paper investigates a choice behavior of Korean subjects for

the provision of public goods using the voluntary contribution

mechanism in Saijo and Nakamura (1995). Together with the data

from Saijo and Nakamura (1995) and Saijo et al. (2007), we conclude

that whereas Japanese subjects are more likely to behave

spitefully, Korean and Chinese subjects are more likely to act cooperatively.

We also analyze the behavior of Korean subjects after

being categorized by department. Subjects from the economics department

follow a pattern of a contribution not much different from

the theoretical expectation, and subjects from the college of social

sciences show a similar pattern. The subjects who act spitefully are

from the department of agricultural economics.