<p>So you are looking for a meta paper that aggregates results from other papers. What you mean by "all experimental public good games" is unclear because the setup of most public good games is different. The multiplicator of the public good, the number of rounds, the level of allowed commucination, whether there is punishment, etc., these frequently vary and have a very big impact on the course of play.</p>

<p>Another reason why such a meta paper is unlikely to exist is because the ratio of cooperators is <a href="http://www.bioecon-network.org/pages/17th_2015/Gsottbauer.pdf" rel="nofollow">context dependent</a>. How the possible actions are labeled: 'Cooperation' and 'Defection' or 'Give money' and 'Save money' has a strong effect on behavior. So even seemingly similar, 'basic' games could be very different.</p>

<p>Your best shot may be trying to find a famous experiment and seeing if there have been any replications. You could then aggregate the data and calculate the desired ratio.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-02-22T21:23:31.033Z
thanks denesp! this paper looks potentially useful: http://home.cerge-ei.cz/richmanova/UPCES%5CZelmer%20-%20Linear%20Public%20Goods%20Experiments%20A%20Meta-Analysis.pdf
Job
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-02-23T00:40:24.310Z
@Job If it turns out to provide the sort of answer you are looking for do post it.
Giskard
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-05-08T17:46:26.717Z
There is an [Experimental Economics Replication Project](http://experimentaleconreplications.com/).
Jan Höffler
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-02-22T19:22:27.980Z
2016-02-22T19:22:27.980Z
Giskard
<p>Of all experimental public good games that have been conducted in laboratory &amp; field settings, what is the average percentage of subjects that can be classified as free-riders (as opposed to (strong) cooperators &amp; conditional cooperators)?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-02-25T00:44:57.753Z
This chapter in the *Handbook of Experimental Economics Results* may be useful: http://www.sciencedirect.com.proxy.lib.sfu.ca/science/article/pii/S1574072207000820 And there's a 20+-year-old review by Ledyard that you might find useful http://www.econ.ohio-state.edu/kagel/handbook.html#Chap2cont
Herr K.
<behavioral-economics>
What is the percentage of free riders in public goods games?
Job
# What is the percentage of free riders in public goods games?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-02-22)

Of all experimental public good games that have been conducted in laboratory & field settings, what is the average percentage of subjects that can be classified as free-riders (as opposed to (strong) cooperators & conditional cooperators)?

**Tags:** behavioral-economics

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: This chapter in the *Handbook of Experimental Economics Results* may be useful: http://www.sciencedirect.com.proxy.lib.sfu.ca/science/article/pii/S1574072207000820 And there's a 20+-year-old review by Ledyard that you might find useful http://www.econ.ohio-state.edu/kagel/handbook.html#Chap2cont  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2016-02-22. Score: 1

So you are looking for a meta paper that aggregates results from other papers. What you mean by "all experimental public good games" is unclear because the setup of most public good games is different. The multiplicator of the public good, the number of rounds, the level of allowed commucination, whether there is punishment, etc., these frequently vary and have a very big impact on the course of play.

Another reason why such a meta paper is unlikely to exist is because the ratio of cooperators is [context dependent](http://www.bioecon-network.org/pages/17th_2015/Gsottbauer.pdf). How the possible actions are labeled: 'Cooperation' and 'Defection' or 'Give money' and 'Save money' has a strong effect on behavior. So even seemingly similar, 'basic' games could be very different.

Your best shot may be trying to find a famous experiment and seeing if there have been any replications. You could then aggregate the data and calculate the desired ratio.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: thanks denesp! this paper looks potentially useful: http://home.cerge-ei.cz/richmanova/UPCES%5CZelmer%20-%20Linear%20Public%20Goods%20Experiments%20A%20Meta-Analysis.pdf  
> **username_2**: @username_0 If it turns out to provide the sort of answer you are looking for do post it.  
> **username_3**: There is an [Experimental Economics Replication Project](http://experimentaleconreplications.com/).  

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