Generosity Across Contexts
44 Pages Posted: 10 Apr 2015
There are 2 versions of this paper
Generosity Across Contexts
Generosity Across Contexts
Date Written: March 31, 2015
Abstract
Extensive research in economics explores generosity in monetary allocations. However, generosity often involves the allocation of non-monetary goods or experiences. Existing evidence suggests that generosity may be higher in such contexts, though no direct comparison exists. Here, we compare generosity in decisions that vary whether allocations are monetary or non-monetary. In two experiments, generosity is significantly higher in non-monetary contexts. Thus, the typical monetary laboratory dictator game may underestimate generosity in many non-laboratory contexts where allocations are non-monetary. We find weaker relationships between individuals’ allocation decisions across monetary and non-monetary contexts than for allocations that hold constant the monetary nature of the context.
Keywords: altruism, generosity, non-monetary, harm, experiment
JEL Classification: D030, D640, C910
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation