Polarization in Environmental Donations – Application to Deforestation Prevention Donation

Abstract

Non-profit organizations promote cooperation and collective actions to address the insufficient provision of environmental goods and services. One common fund-raising strategy employed by these organizations is through the provision of information, such as the impact of environmental degradation, to inform and persuade potential donors. However, if not carefully designed, it can lead to unintended consequences. In this paper, we theoretically and empirically analyze how information affects people’s willingness to donate (WTD). Our theory suggests that when people have different initial beliefs, new information can lead to polarization through their understanding and rationalization of social norms. We provide empirical support using an online experiment, which demonstrates that environmental and public health information leads to polarization in donations to deforestation prevention programs. Being exposed to information opposite of individuals’ existing beliefs reinforces their current opinions. Information thus induces polarization in donation behavior in groups with different initial beliefs. Our results emphasize that the implementation of information treatment calls for careful deliberation. Our study also provides insights on designing effective strategies to promote environmental donation behavior.

Keywords: environmental donation; polarization; deforestation; social norms; information treatment