Abstract
This study (N =156) investigates cooperation among university students in Bangladesh through a public goods experiment. Bangladesh, The Economist’s Country of the Year in 2024, recently experienced a student-led revolution that led to the fall of a government that had ruled for 15 years. We conducted the experimental sessions in November 2024, three months after the government's fall (on August 05). Subjects participate in a two-person economically incentivized public goods game; each subject makes several contribution decisions. Across these decisions, the identity of the interaction partner is varied. Before every decision, subjects are informed about the partner’s group affiliation. The groups include three traditional political parties and one new political entity (hypothetical) labeled as the "new-student-party". Decisions are divided into two sets: NOVEMBER & AUGUST. The AUGUST decisions are similar to NOVEMBER decisions, with the exception that subjects are asked to indicate how much they would contribute in the week following the fall of the government. Subjects contribute significantly less when the partner is affiliated with a traditional political party (P-value < 0.001). Comparing the NOVEMBER and AUGUST decisions, however, reveals a decline in enthusiasm for the new party. The NOVEMBER average associated with the new-student-party is significantly lower than the AUGUST average (P-value < 0.001). We observe a contrasting time effect for the political party that lost power (P-value < 0.001). Insights gained from this study should enhance our understanding of how political affiliation influences collaboration in a society in transition and how reform directions can affect the willingness to cooperate.