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On generosity in public good and charitable dictator games

Author

Listed:
  • Chan, Nathan W.
  • Knowles, Stephen
  • Peeters, Ronald
  • Wolk, Leonard

Abstract

We examine the relationship between generosity in charitable dictator games (CDGs) and public good games (PGGs). We construct a novel generalized game that subsumes both as special cases and present experimental subjects with different blends of CDG and PGG tasks. Generosity in the CDG and PGG are only weakly correlated, in spite of close experimental control on confounding factors. We furthermore demonstrate how underlying preferences shape these behaviors, revealing important distinctions between preferences for charity and public good provision. Our findings have implications for the generalizability of existing experimental results that rely upon these games.

Suggested Citation

  • Chan, Nathan W. & Knowles, Stephen & Peeters, Ronald & Wolk, Leonard, 2024. "On generosity in public good and charitable dictator games," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 224(C), pages 624-640.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:224:y:2024:i:c:p:624-640
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2024.05.027
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Public good game; Dictator game; Generosity; Giving motives;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H41 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Public Goods
    • D64 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Altruism; Philanthropy; Intergenerational Transfers
    • C72 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Noncooperative Games
    • C90 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - General

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