Why don’t People Cooperate? Exploring the Lack of Cooperation Through the use of Experiments

Objective: This study sought to investigate, from the perspective of Game Theory, the reasons for the “non-cooperation” of certain groups that depend on a specific reservoir for water supply, considering the influence of economic incentives. Method: Public good game experiments were carried out with 60 recyclable material collectors, 63 indigenous people, 55 university students and 68 professional fishermen. Subsequently, semi-structured interviews complemented the data collection strategy. Results and conclusion: Among the main results, we can mention the opportunistic behavior in the group of collectors, sociocultural issues in the indigenous context, the perception of inequality of earnings among students, individual work and independence from the group, in this case of fishermen. It appears that understanding this multiplicity of factors involved in the decision not to cooperate can encourage new discussions regarding the formulation of policies aimed at preserving public goods, going beyond the mere use of punishment and reward based on inspection actions. Originality/value: The need to understand the context of these groups, and others equally benefiting from certain public goods, would be valuable to reduce non-cooperative behavior.