Fig. 2: Creation of public and private solutions across declining private solution costs.
From: Self-reliance crowds out group cooperation and increases wealth inequality
a Successful creation of the public good (cooperation) declined when the cost of the private solution decreased. Cooperation, however, remained more stable when resources were distributed asymmetrically (n = 25 groups, blue line) compared to the symmetry condition (n = 25 groups) in which group members were equally dependent on each other (black line). b Reversely, group members created more private goods and chose to become self-reliant more frequently in the symmetry condition with cheaper private solutions (black line) compared to groups in the asymmetry condition (blue line). Points indicate the mean. Error bars indicate the standard error of the mean.
