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The Great Recession and Charitable Giving

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  • Jonathan Meer
  • David H. Miller
  • Elisa Wulfsberg

Abstract

We examine the impact of the Great Recession on charitable giving. We find sharp declines in overall donative behavior that is not accounted for by shocks to income or wealth. These results suggest that overall attitudes towards giving changed over this time period.

Suggested Citation

  • Jonathan Meer & David H. Miller & Elisa Wulfsberg, 2016. "The Great Recession and Charitable Giving," NBER Working Papers 22902, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:22902
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jonathan Meer, 2013. "The Habit Of Giving," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 51(4), pages 2002-2017, October.
    2. John A. List, 2011. "The Market for Charitable Giving," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 25(2), pages 157-180, Spring.
    3. List, John A. & Peysakhovich, Yana, 2011. "Charitable donations are more responsive to stock market booms than busts," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 110(2), pages 166-169, February.
    4. Fisman, Raymond & Jakiela, Pamela & Kariv, Shachar, 2015. "How did distributional preferences change during the Great Recession?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 84-95.
    5. Ulrike Malmendier & Stefan Nagel, 2011. "Depression Babies: Do Macroeconomic Experiences Affect Risk Taking?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 126(1), pages 373-416.
    6. Wilhelm, Mark O., 2006. "New data on charitable giving in the PSID," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 92(1), pages 26-31, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jonathan Meer & Benjamin A. Priday, 2020. "Tax Prices and Charitable Giving: Projected Changes in Donations under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act," Tax Policy and the Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 34(1), pages 113-138.
    2. Cevat Giray Aksoy & Antonio Cabrales & Mathias Dolls & Ruben Durante & Lisa Windsteiger, 2021. "Calamities, Common Interests, Shared Identity: What Shapes Altruism and Reciprocity?," EconPol Working Paper 64, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    3. Aksoy, Cevat Giray & Dolls, Mathias & Durante, Ruben & Windsteiger, Lisa, 2021. "Calamities, Common Interests, Shared Identity: What Shapes Social Cohesion in Europe?," CEPR Discussion Papers 16186, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    4. Jonathan Meer & Benjamin A. Priday, 2019. "Tax Prices and Charitable Giving: Projected Changes in Donations Under the 2017 TCJA," NBER Working Papers 26452, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Mayo, Jennifer, 2021. "How do big gifts affect rival charities and their donors?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 191(C), pages 575-597.
    6. Sean D. Ehrlich & Christopher Gahagan, 2023. "The Multisided Threat to Free Trade: Protectionism and Fair Trade During Increasing Populism," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 11(1), pages 223-236.
    7. Peter Koczanski & Harvey S. Rosen, 2019. "Are Millennials Really So Selfish? Preliminary Evidence from the Philanthropy Panel Study," NBER Working Papers 25813, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Andrikopoulos, Andreas, 2020. "Delineating social finance," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    9. Lieke Voorintholt, 2023. "Substitutes or complements: a budget-based analysis of the relationship between donating and volunteering," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 75(4), pages 1033-1052.
    10. Harvey S. Rosen & Peter Koczanski, 2019. "Are Millennials Really So Selfish? Preliminary Evidence from the Philanthropy Panel Study," Working Papers 254, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Center for Economic Policy Studies..
    11. Rebecca Lessem & Sarah Niebler & Carly Urban, 2023. "Do house prices affect campaign contributions?," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(2), pages 629-660, July.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D64 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Altruism; Philanthropy; Intergenerational Transfers
    • E02 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General - - - Institutions and the Macroeconomy
    • H41 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Public Goods

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