Working Paper: NBER ID: w17737
Authors: Dean Karlan; Margaret A. McConnell
Abstract: Theories abound for why individuals give to charity. We conduct a field experiment with donors to a Yale University service club to test the impact of a promise of public recognition on giving. Some may claim that they respond to an offer of public recognition not to improve their social standing, but rather to motivate others to give. To tease apart these two theories, we conduct a laboratory experiment with undergraduates, and find no evidence to support the alternative, altruistic motivation. We conclude that charitable gifts increase in response to the promise of public recognition primarily because of individuals' desire to improve their social image.
Keywords: charitable giving; public recognition; social image; field experiment; laboratory experiment
JEL Codes: H00; J01
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| mentioning recognition influences the likelihood of giving (D64) | does not uniformly affect the magnitude of donations (D64) |
| public recognition (O36) | enhances an individual's social status (Z13) |
| mentioning the potential for public recognition in the form of a newsletter (Y90) | increases the probability of making any donation (D64) |
| specific mention of the newsletter (Y60) | increases the probability of gifts qualifying for publication in the newsletter (Y90) |
| desire to influence others (D70) | does not significantly alter donation behavior (D64) |