Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP15535
Authors: Nicole Black; Elaine de Gruyter; Dennis Petrie; Sarah Smith
Abstract: ‘Altruism born of suffering’ (ABS) predicts that, following an adverse life event such as a health shock, individuals may become motivated to act pro-socially. However, this has not yet been examined systematically. Using data from the United States Panel Study of Income Dynamics, we find that a health shock does not lead to a general increase in pro-social behaviour. Instead, ABS is akin to a specific shock that affects giving to health charities, with an increase in the probability of giving and amounts donated to health charities coming at the expense of other non-religious charities.
Keywords: altruism born of suffering; charitable giving; prosocial behaviour; health shock
JEL Codes: D64; I12; H41
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Adverse health shock (I12) | Charitable giving (D64) |
| Adverse health shock (I12) | Probability of donating to health charities (D64) |
| Probability of donating to health charities (D64) | Charitable giving (D64) |
| Adverse health shock (I12) | Donations to non-health-related charities (D64) |
| Adverse health shock (I12) | Probability of donating to health charities (after one year) (D64) |
| Health shock (I12) | Charitable giving through income, healthcare expenditure, or health status (D64) |