Treatment 7: Baseline + COMMUNICATION & ALT & PETITION

1. Instructions for
the 2nd set of rounds

2. What’s new. 1) The 3rd option for farmers—Alternative
ALT
(Private)
Farmers
Provider
Repair &
maintain
Take water
to grow crop
Irrigation
Infrastructure
(Public)
Take water
to grow crop
• The second set of rounds is identical to the previous rounds except for
THREE changes – For the first two, there are two new options for farmers.
• Four options are now available to farmers:
1) The first option is that farmers PAY their 10 tokens and then take
water from the public irrigation infrastructure to grow crop.
2) The second option is that farmers HOLD payment and just keep their
10 tokens.
3) The THIRD option is that each farmer does not pay the provider and
instead, invests in an alternative water source that is privately
owned. Farmers then take water from this private alternative water
source to grow crop. This choice is denoted as ALT.
Note
Because this alternative water source is privately owned,
the choice ALT is not affected by the decisions of other players.

3. What’s new. 2) The 4th option for farmers—Petition
PETITION
Farmers
Provider
Repair &
maintain
Take water
to grow crop
Irrigation
Infrastructure
(Public)
• The second set of rounds is identical to the previous rounds except for
THREE changes – For the first two, there are two new options for farmers.
• Four options are now available to farmers:
1) The first option is that farmers PAY their 10 tokens and then take
water from the public irrigation infrastructure to grow crop.
2) The second option is that farmers HOLD payment and just keep their
10 tokens.
3) The THIRD option is that each farmer does not pay the provider and
instead, invests in an alternative water source that is privately owned.
Farmers then take water from this private alternative water source to
grow crop. This choice is denoted as ALT.
4) The FOURTH option is that Farmers PETITION the provider to
improve the infrastructure while still paying 10 tokens to the
provider to take water. However, note that:
 A Farmer will bear some cost if he/she chooses to
PETITION—2 tokens will be deducted from his/her earnings.
 The Provider's earnings will be deducted by 5 tokens for
each PETITION that it has to deal with.

4. What are Farmer’s decision options and earning outcomes?
• More specifically, at the beginning of each round, each farmer is endowed with 10 tokens.
• Each farmer then decides what to do with this endowment between three options: HOLD, PAY, ALT, and PETITION.
• If a Farmer decides to HOLD 10 tokens and do not pay, the Farmer will just earn 10 tokens.
• If a Farmer decides to PAY 10 tokens, then there are two possible outcomes.
1) When the irrigation infrastructure is fully functional, the Farmer will earn 15 tokens.
2) Otherwise, when the irrigation infrastructure is minimal functional, the farmer will earn 5 tokens.
• If a Farmer invests to ALT option and does not pay to the Provider, then the farmer will earn 11 tokens.
• If a Farmer decides to PETITION the Provider, then there are two possible outcomes. Note that a PETITION not only
costs the Farmer 2 tokens, but also deducts 5 tokens from the Provider.
1) When the irrigation is fully functional, the Farmer will earn 13 tokens.
2) Otherwise, when the irrigation infrastructure is minimal functional, the farmer will earn 3 tokens.

5. What are Provider’s decision options and earning outcomes?
• Provider has the same options as the previous rounds (KEEP and INVEST). However, the Provider’s tokens will be deducted by
5 tokens when a Farmer chooses PETITION. For example, if two Farmers PETITION, the total deduction will be 10 tokens.
• If the Provider decides to KEEP, the Provider will earn the tokens remaining after the collected tokens are deducted by
PETITIONS (for each PETITION, 5 tokens are deducted).
• If the Provider decides to INVEST, the Provider will earn the tokens remaining after the collected tokens are deducted by BOTH
investment cost (15 tokens) and PETITIONS (for each PETITION, 5 tokens are deducted).
Note
• It costs the provider 15 tokens to make the needed investment to the irrigation infrastructure in each round.
• The Provider’s earnings cannot be less than zero in this experiment.
Example
• Suppose that 2 Farmers choose PETITION and 1 Farmer chooses PAY. Then, the Provider receives 30 tokens from the three
Farmers. If the Provider decides to INVEST, the Provider has 15 tokens after investment. Because 2 Farmers PETITON, 10
tokens will be additionally deducted from the amount (15 tokens) that the Provider has after investment. Thus, the Provider
will earn 5 tokens (see the right box).
Provider
INVEST
KEEP
Receive tokens
Farmers
Decision Earning
All received tokens – 5 tokens multiplied by # of PETITIONs
All received tokens – Investment (15 tokens) – 5 tokens multiplied by # of PETITIONs
30 tokens (2 Farmers PETITION & 1 Farmer PAY)
– 15 tokens (Investment)
– 10 tokens (Two PETITIONs)
5 tokens (Provider’s earning)

6. What’s new. 3) Text-based communication in a chatroom
• The third new is a group chat.
• Three Farmers and the Provider are allowed to communicate with each
other in a text-based chatroom.
 When and how long? 60 seconds at the BEGINNING of each round
 How? You can send text messages to the other participants
 What can be discussed? Any aspect of the exercise with two
important exceptions:
1) You are NOT allowed to promise the other participants side-
payments or threaten them with any consequence after the
experiment is finished.
2) You are NOT allowed to reveal your real identity.
• Note
 Group chat does NOT affect both the Farmers' and the Provider's
earnings. Your earnings are determined ONLY by what three Farmers
and the Provider choose among their available options.
Farmers
Provider
Repair &
maintain
Take water
to grow crop
Irrigation
Infrastructure
(Public)

7. Next, you will take a short quiz.
After that, you and 3 other players will play the second set of rounds.