Funding a new bridge in rural Vietnam: a field experiment on social influence and default contributions

• Published in: Oxford economic papers Vol. 67; no. 4; pp. 987 - 1014
• Main Authors: Carlsson, Fredrik, Johansson-Stenman, Olof, Nam, Pham Khanh
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Oxford University Press 01-10-2015; Oxford Publishing Limited (England)
• Subjects: Developing countries; Economic development; Economics; Federal funding; Highway construction; LDCs; Nationalekonomi; Public good; Social psychology; Studies; Vietnam
• ISSN: 0030-7653; 1464-3812
• DOI: 10.1093/oep/gpv039

Public goods provision is essential for economic development. Yet there is limited evidence regarding contributions to local public goods in developing countries. This article analyses a field experiment where all 200 households in a village in rural Vietnam make real contributions to a public good that is very important for them in daily life—a bridge. We study the role of social influence (that people may be more willing to co-operate if others do) and the effects of the default alternative in the choice situation. We find significant and substantial (in the order of magnitude of 15-25%) effects of both social influence and defaults but only when providing low reference or default contributions.