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The number but not the variety of nonprofit organizations affects donations: evidence from an experiment

Author

Listed:
  • Giacomo Degli Antoni

    (University of Parma, Department of Law)

  • Marco Faillo

    (University of Trento)

Abstract

We provide experimental evidence on the effect of competition among nonprofit organizations on the total and the per capita amount of collected donations. We vary the number of organizations in competition, their type, i.e., nonprofit associations and community foundations, and their charitable purposes, i.e., to help people with economic difficulties or disabilities. We show that the number but not the variety of nonprofit organizations positively affects the total collected donations. Moreover, we find that the latter is inelastic to the increase in the number of organizations in the competition, which increases the total collected donations but reduces the per capita donations.

Suggested Citation

  • Giacomo Degli Antoni & Marco Faillo, 2019. "The number but not the variety of nonprofit organizations affects donations: evidence from an experiment," Econometica Working Papers wp74, Econometica.
    • Handle: RePEc:ent:wpaper:wp74
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    donations; competition; organizational density; nonprofit organizations; community foundations;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • D64 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Altruism; Philanthropy; Intergenerational Transfers
    • L31 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise - - - Nonprofit Institutions; NGOs; Social Entrepreneurship

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