How Is Charitable Giving Influenced by Suggestions of a Contribution-Level?

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The field experiment presented in this video shows that the level of donations can be raised by suggesting a concrete contribution amount to potential donors. As MAJA ADENA explains, the effects were threefold: the average donation level rose, the different suggested amounts were respectively donated more often in the treatment groups during the experiment, and they were still more often after the experiment, when no amounts were suggested anymore.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21036/LTPUB10105

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Researcher

Maja Adena is a Postdoctoral Researcher in economics. She received her PhD from the Free University Berlin, where she worked as a research fellow until 2012. Ever since, Adena worked with the Social Science Research Centre Berlin (WZB), where she acts not only as a researcher, but also as a member of the academic council.

Adena’s research interests reach from applied microeconomics to political economy and behavioural economics with a more specific interest in the economy of non-profit and charitable organisations.

Institution

Berlin Social Science Centre (WZB)

The WZB Berlin Social Science Center investigates societal change. The research focus is on problems of modern societies in a globalized world. Research areas include education and work, migration and the dynamics of political systems, market and choice, international politics and law. WZB research is theory-based, problem-oriented, often long-term and mostly based on international comparisons. Around 160 German and international researchers work at the WZB, including sociologists, political scientists, economists, legal scholars and historians. Research results are published for the scientific community as well as for experts in politics, business, the media and civic organizations. As a non-university research institute, the WZB is member of the Leibniz-Association. The WZB closely cooperates with universities in Berlin and beyond as well as with research institutions abroad. The WZB was founded in 1969 by members of the German parliament. The WZB is funded by the Federal government, he state of Berlin, and the community of German states. (Source: WZB)

Original publication

Charitable Giving and Nonbinding Contribution-Level Suggestions Evidence from a Field Experiment

Huck Steffen, Rasul Imran and Adena Maja

Review of Behavioral Economics

Published in 2014

Reading recommendations

Social Comparisons and Pro-Social Behavior: Testing 'Conditional Cooperation' in a Field Experiment

Frey Bruno S. and Meier Stephan

The American Economic Review

Published in 2004

A Field Experiment in Charitable Contribution: The Impact of Social Information on the Voluntary Provision of Public Goods

Shang Jen and Croson Rachel

The Economic Journal

Published in 2009

Defaults and Donations: Evidence from a Field Experiment

Altmann Steffen, Falk Armin, Heidhues Paul and Jayaraman Rajshri

CESifo Working Paper

Published in 2014

Beyond

If I Had a Second Life

Citation

Maja Adena, Latest Thinking, How Is Charitable Giving Influenced by Suggestions of a Contribution-Level?, https://doi.org/10.21036/LTPUB10105, 2014

Credits:

© Maja Adena and Latest Thinking
This work is licensed under CC-BY 4.0