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Blood donations and incentives : evidence from a field experiment

Author

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  • Goette, Lorenz
  • Stutzer, Alois

    (University of Basel)

Abstract

There is a longstanding concern that material incentives might undermine prosocial motivation, leading to a decrease in blood donations rather than an increase. This paper provides an empirical test of how material incentives affect blood donations in a large-scale field experiment spanning three months and involving more than 10,000 previous donors. We examine two types of incentive: a lottery ticket and a free cholesterol test. Lottery tickets significantly increase donations, in particular among less motivated donors. The cholesterol test leads to no discernable impact on usable blood donations. If anything, it creates a small negative selection effect in terms of donations that must be discarded.

Suggested Citation

  • Goette, Lorenz & Stutzer, Alois, 2008. "Blood donations and incentives : evidence from a field experiment," Working papers 2008/05, Faculty of Business and Economics - University of Basel.
    • Handle: RePEc:bsl:wpaper:2008/05
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    prosocial behavior; blood donations; material incentives; field experiment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • D64 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Altruism; Philanthropy; Intergenerational Transfers
    • H41 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Public Goods
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

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