Exploring the Impact of Group-Based Incentives on Cooperative Dynamics in Public Goods Game

In social dilemmas like the public goods game, identifying free riders is challenging when contributions are made secretly. To address this, we propose a novel approach in which we implement group-level punishment or reward mechanisms based on collective contributions. Specifically, if the total contributions of a group, multiplied by an enhancement factor, fall below the expected payoff, we administer punishment to all group members. Conversely, if the total contributions exceed the expected payoff, we provide rewards to the entire group. This approach aims to mitigate free riding behavior and incentivize cooperation without the need for individual contribution monitoring. We anticipate that this group-level intervention will promote sustained cooperation and enhance collective outcomes in social dilemmas. Our study contributes to the understanding of cooperative behavior and offers practical insights into managing collective action problems in various social contexts.