Simulating cooperation in local communities

Date:
June 18, 2020
Source:
Springer
Summary:
A new simulation-based approach is introduced which could help
to reduce the proportion of people who misuse welfare payoffs,
through a cost- effective system which rewards individuals who
use them responsibly.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A new simulation-based approach is introduced which could help to
reduce the proportion of people who misuse welfare payoffs, through a cost-effective system which rewards individuals who use them responsibly.


==========================================================================
Many goods and service providers in China rely on supplies from
local governments, but these are often limited by financial budgets -- especially in rural villages. Members of the public must cooperate with
their governments and each other in order for this system to run smoothly,
but unfortunately, this balance is threatened by a small proportion of individuals who take in welfare without contributing fairly to their communities. In new research published in EPJ B, Ran Yang and colleagues
at Tianjin University, China, introduce a new simulation-based approach
which could help to solve this issue, through a cost- effective system
which rewards individuals who use welfare systems responsibly.

The team's work could help to improve the efficiency and fairness of
goods and service operations in China, without requiring external funds
for reward and punishment systems. Their system works by assigning
ranked reputation scores to individuals, which are quantified by their
previous levels of cooperation and made known to the public. When payoffs
are made by local governments, lower- reputation individuals will be
required to transfer some of this welfare directly to those with higher reputations. This provides a significant incentive for people to improve
their reputations.

Yang and colleagues designed the system using computer simulations of a
'public goods game.' By tuning the parameters of the simulation, they
explored how various mechanisms of payment transfer between 'players' of differing reputations would cause public cooperation as a whole to evolve
over time. This allowed them to determine how these transfers could be optimised to ensure as many players as possible came to improve their reputations, without incurring any significant costs. The study could ultimately provide useful insights for local governments and organisers
as to how they can ensure that their supplies to public goods and services providers can benefit their communities the most.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Springer. Note: Content may be edited
for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Ran Yang, Tong Chen, Qiao Chen. Promoting cooperation by
reputation-based
payoff transfer mechanism in public goods game. The European
Physical Journal B, 2020; 93 (5) DOI: 10.1140/epjb/e2020-100618-x ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200618111004.htm

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