Redesigning the Market for Volunteers: A Donor Registry

Stephanie Heger, Robert Slonim (), Ellen Garbarino (), Carmen Wang () and Daniel Waller ()
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Robert Slonim: Discipline of Marketing, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
Ellen Garbarino: Discipline of Marketing, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
Carmen Wang: Harvard Business School, Boston, Massachusetts 02163
Daniel Waller: Australian Red Cross Blood Service, Alexandria, New South Wales 2015, Australia; University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, New South Wales 2007, Australia

Management Science, 2020, vol. 66, issue 8, 3528-3541

Abstract: This paper addresses volunteer labor markets where the lack of price signals, nonpecuniary motivations to supply labor, and limited fungibility of supply lead to market failure. To address the causes of the market failure, we conduct a field experiment with volunteer whole blood donors where we introduce a market-clearing mechanism (henceforth: the Registry). Our intention-to-treat estimates suggest that subjects invited to the Registry, regardless of joining, are 66% more responsive to critical shortage appeals than control subjects. While the Registry increases supply during a critical shortage episode, it does not increase supply when there is no shortage; thus, the Registry significantly improves coordination between volunteer donors and collection centers, thereby improving market outcomes. We find evidence that the Registry’s effectiveness stems from crowding-in volunteers with purely altruistic motives and volunteers with a preference for commitment.

Keywords: voluntary labor; coordination; market failure; altruism; commitment; ask avoidance; market design (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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