Abstract
Little is known about the effect of social information on the ability of groups to overcome a collective action problem. By social information, we mean information about the actions of other group members and their effects. This thesis aims to shed new light on this subject. In the first chapter, we analyze the effect of different levels of information regarding subjects' actions, and different ways to deliver it, on the extraction of a common pool resource. In the second and third chapters, we analyze the effect of presenting the actions of other group members as generating positive or negative externalities on the group's ability to produce a public good. In these chapters, we replicate the frame of the voluntary contribution mechanism created by Andreoni (1995); and add peer pressure (Masclet et al., 2003) or peer punishment (Fehr & Gachter, 2000). Besides, throughout this thesis, we pay particular attention to how social information influences subjects' cooperation and still the way they react to the social information delivered. As a result, the taste for conformity is an important driver of group dynamics. Furthermore, the perception subjects have of others' actions can hinder their ability to converge on a high rate of contribution. We also observe different reactions to the information delivered depending on the subjects' social orientation (Murphy et al., 2011). The more individualistic tend to imitate the worst behaviors when they are displayed and seem more sensitive to the framing effect. These results invite us to take better account of social preferences in order to understand the effects of the dissemination of social information and, in particular, the impact of different feedback on the management of natural resources.