Announcements of Support and Public Good Provision

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Kessler, Judd B.
• 署名单位: University of Pennsylvania
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC REVIEW
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0002-8282
• DOI: 10.1257/aer.20130711
• 发表日期: 2017
• 页码: 3760-3787
• 关键词: Natural field experiment; social information; Conditional cooperation; Voluntary contributions; altruism; RECIPROCITY; decisions; Donations; networks; dilemmas

摘要

Providing information about contributions to public goods is known to generate further contributions. However, it is often impossible to provide verifiable information on contributions. Through a large-scale field experiment and a series of laboratory experiments, I show that nonbinding announcements of support for a public good encourage others to contribute, even when actual contributions might not or cannot be made. Providing a way to easily announce support for a charity increases donations by $865 per workplace fundraising campaign (or 16 percent of average giving). I discuss implications for understanding prosocial behavior and for organizations aiming to increase contributions to public goods.