The Pledging Puzzle: How Can Revocable Promises Increase Charitable Giving

34 Pages Posted: 6 Dec 2019

See all articles by James Andreoni

James Andreoni

University of California, San Diego (UCSD)

Marta Serra-Garcia

University of California, San Diego (UCSD) - Rady School of Management

Date Written: 2019

Abstract

What is the value of pledges if they are often reneged upon? In this paper we show - both theoretically and experimentally - that pledges can be used to screen donors and to better understand their motives for giving. In return, nonprofit managers can use the information they glean from pledges to better target future charitable giving appeals and interventions to donors, such as expressions of gratitude. In an experiment, we find that offering the option to pledge gifts induces self-selection. If expressions of gratitude are then targeted to individuals who select into pledges, reneging can be significantly reduced. Our findings provide an explanation for the potential usefulness of pledges.

Keywords: prosocial behavior, charitable giving, pledging, intertemporal choice

JEL Classification: D640, D900, C910

Suggested Citation

Andreoni, James and Serra-Garcia, Marta, The Pledging Puzzle: How Can Revocable Promises Increase Charitable Giving (2019). CESifo Working Paper No. 7965, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3498722 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3498722

James Andreoni (Contact Author)

University of California, San Diego (UCSD) ( email )

9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla, CA 92093-0508
United States

HOME PAGE: http://econ.ucsd.edu/~jandreon/

Marta Serra-Garcia

University of California, San Diego (UCSD) - Rady School of Management ( email )

9500 Gilman Drive
Rady School of Management
La Jolla, CA 92093
United States

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