Nudging generosity: Choice architecture and cognitive factors in charitable giving

• Published in: Journal of behavioral and experimental economics Vol. 74; pp. 139 - 145
• Main Authors: Schulz, Jonathan F., Thiemann, Petra, Thöni, Christian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 01.06.2018
• Subjects: Affective reactions; Charitable giving; Choice architecture; Defaults; Donation; Economics; Economics and Business; Ekonomi och näringsliv; Nationalekonomi; Samhällsvetenskap; Social Sciences; Defaults; D64; H41; Donation; L3; Choice architecture; C93; Charitable giving; Affective reactions
• ISSN: 2214-8043; 2214-8051; 2214-8051
• DOI: 10.1016/j.socec.2018.04.001

•We study donations to charities in a paper-and-pen experiment.•In the treatment group, subjects can either specify a charity of their choice, or select one from a list of five well-known charities; in the control group we do not provide a list.•Eliciting donations with the list doubles the amount donated relative to the control treatment.•The increase is driven by a change on the extensive margin, while the distribution of donations conditional on donating is almost identical across treatment. In an experimental setup we investigate the effect of two different choice architectures on donation decisions. In the treatment group, subjects can either specify a charity of their choice, or select one from a list of five well-known charities; in the control group we do not provide a list. In a sample of 869 subjects we find a large treatment effect: Offering a list of default charities doubles the fraction of donors, as well as the revenue for charities. We find that the treatment intervention particularly affects subjects who tend to make intuitive choices.