search query: @indexterm Altruism / total: 46
reference: 3 / 46
Author: | Konow, J. |
Title: | Mixed feelings: theories of and evidence on giving |
Journal: | Journal of Public Economics
2010 : APR, VOL. 94:3-4, p. 279-297 |
Index terms: | empirical research charities revenue assets allocation altruism equities justice |
Language: | eng |
Abstract: | This article investigates possible motives and institutional factors affecting giving. Specifically, alternative theories parallel to dictator experiments are considered that generate evidence on allocation decisions and how they impact feelings. A variety of new empirical findings as well as new interpretations for prior ones result. A novel test separate warm glow from impure altruism and rules out the former as the only motive for giving. Very generous donations to charities aiding the needy (with modal gifts of the entire dictator's stakes) cannot be associated to familiarity with the charities. A charity offering a matching grant raises its revenues by tempting donors and donations away from one that does not, even though aggregate charitable donations do not rise. Additional results about emotions paint a picture of mixed feelings: generosity creates good feelings when the recipients are charities and bad ones when they are fellow students. No group of dictators, however, feels better, on average, than a control group with no opportunity to donate. A simple model accounting for these results on allocation behavior and feelings is proposed by incorporating elements of two mostly independently evolved approaches, unconditional altruism and social preference theories. An essential feature of this model is the social norm, and the results of the experiments confirm the theory in the context of two norms of important distributive justice to real world giving: equity and need. |
SCIMA