Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP13677
Authors: Lorenz Goette; Alois Stutzer
Abstract: There is a longstanding concern that material incentives might undermine pro-social motivation, leading to a decrease in blood donations rather than an increase. This paper provides an empirical test of how material incentives affect blood donations in a large-scale field experiment spanning three months and involving more than 10,000 previous donors. We examine two types of rewards: a lottery ticket and a free cholesterol test. Lottery tickets significantly increase donations during the experiment, in particular among less motivated donors. Moreover, no reduction in donations is observed after the experiment. The free cholesterol test leads to no discernable impact on blood donations during and after the experiment.
Keywords: blood donations; field experiment; material incentives; motivation; crowding effect; prosocial behavior
JEL Codes: C93; D64; H41; I18
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Lottery ticket (H27) | Blood donations (D64) |
| Free cholesterol test (G29) | Blood donations (D64) |
| Material rewards (J33) | Intrinsic motivation (O31) |
| Material rewards (J33) | Long-term donations (D64) |
| Less motivated donors (D64) | Response to lottery ticket (H27) |
| Highly motivated donors (D64) | Response to incentives (D91) |