Arbeitspapier

Stochastic income and conditional generosity

We study how other-regarding behavior extends to environments with uncertain income and conditional commitments. Should fundraisers ask a banker to donate "if he earns a bonus" or wait and ask after the bonus is known? Standard EU theory predicts these are equivalent; loss-aversion and signaling models both predict a larger commitment before the bonus is known; theories of affect predict the reverse. In field and lab experiments, we allow people to donate from lottery winnings, varying whether they decide before or after learning the lottery's outcome. Males are more generous when making conditional donations before knowing the outcome, while females' donations are unaffected. Males also commit more in treatments where income is certain but the donation's collection is uncertain. This supports a signaling explanation: it is cheaper to commit to donate before the uncertainty is unresolved, thus a larger donation is required to maintain a positive image. This has implications for experimental methodology, for fundraisers, and for our understanding of pro-social behavior.

ISBN
978-3-86304-196-0
Language
Englisch

Bibliographic citation
Series: DICE Discussion Paper ; No. 197

Classification
Wirtschaft
Altruism; Philanthropy; Intergenerational Transfers
Design of Experiments: Laboratory, Individual
Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise: General
Microeconomic Behavior: Underlying Principles
Expectations; Speculations
Subject
social preferences
contingent decision-making
signaling
uncertainty
prospect theory
affective state
gender
charitable giving
public goods
experiments
field experiments
bonuses

Event
Geistige Schöpfung
(who)
Kellner, Christian
Reinstein, David
Riener, Gerhard
Event
Veröffentlichung
(who)
Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE)
(where)
Düsseldorf
(when)
2015

Handle
Last update
10.03.2025, 11:42 AM CET

Data provider

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Object type

  • Arbeitspapier

Associated

  • Kellner, Christian
  • Reinstein, David
  • Riener, Gerhard
  • Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE)

Time of origin

  • 2015

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