INFORMATION DISCLOSURE AND VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS TO PUBLIC-GOODS

This article analyzes the effect of information generation and disclos ure upon free-riding and on the likelihood that cooperative efforts co llapse in a public-goods game. In this model the prospect of greater d isclosure can make all individuals worse off ex ante by reducing expec ted contributions to the public good. The model provides conditions un der which disclosure becomes either more or less desirable as a functi on of the number of individual contributors. Regulation or competitive problems that increase direct costs of disclosure may on average incr ease the provision of public goods and improve welfare. The desirabili ty of disclosure in the contexts of collective political action, debt renegotiation and production in teams are discussed.