Fair Weather Avoidance: Unpacking the Costs and Benefits of “Avoiding the Ask"

Hannah Trachtman, Andrew Steinkruger, Mackenzie Wood, Adam Wooster, James Andreoni, James Murphy and Justin Rao
Additional contact information
Hannah Trachtman: Yale University
Andrew Steinkruger: Department of Economics, University of Alaska Anchorage
Mackenzie Wood: Department of Economics, University of Alaska Anchorage
Adam Wooster: Department of Economics, University of Alaska Anchorage
Justin Rao: Microsoft Research

No 2014-05, Working Papers from University of Alaska Anchorage, Department of Economics

Abstract: If being asked to give to charity stimulates an emotional response, like empathy, that makes giving difficult to resist, a natural self-control mechanism might be to avoid being asked in the first place. We replicate a result from a field experiment that points to the role of empathy in giving. We conduct an experiment in a large superstore in which we solicit donations to charity and randomly allow shoppers the opportunity to avoid solicitation by using the other door. We find the rate of avoidance by store entrants to be 8.9 percent. However, we also find that the avoidance effect disappears in very cold weather, suggesting that avoidance behavior is sensitive to its cost.

Keywords: experimental economics; field experiment; charitable giving; philanthropy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C90 C93 D03 D64 H41 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014-10
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Published in Journal of the Economic Science Association. 1(1):8-14.

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http://www.econpapers.uaa.alaska.edu/RePEC/ala/wpaper/ALA201405.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Fair weather avoidance: unpacking the costs and benefits of “Avoiding the Ask” (2015)
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