The shape of warm glow: Field experimental evidence from a fundraiser

Jeffrey Carpenter

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2021, vol. 191, issue C, 555-574

Abstract: Theory commonly posits agents who care both for the level of public good provision and the extent to which they personally contribute to the cause. Simply put, agents feel “warm glow” from the donations they make. I discuss a lottery fundraiser conducted in the field devised to exogenously vary the incentive to give and identify the structural parameters of warm glow. Estimates suggest that for participants claiming warm glow as their primary motivation, its shape is increasing and concave. Nevertheless, welfare analysis suggests that warm glow is unlikely to be the only important factor in the decision to give.

Keywords: Public good; Altruism; Warm glow; Structural estimate; Philanthropy; Pari-mutuel lottery; Fundraising; Field experiment; Survey validation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C93 D03 D64 H41 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (13)

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Related works:
Working Paper: The Shape of Warm Glow: Field Experimental Evidence from a Fundraiser (2018)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:191:y:2021:i:c:p:555-574

DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2021.09.020

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