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  4. December 2017
  5. Announcements of Support and Public Good Provision

蝌蚪网 Review

ISSN 0002-8282 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7981 (Online)

Announcements of Support and Public Good Provision

  • Judd B. Kessler
蝌蚪网 Review
vol. 107, no. 12, December 2017
(pp. 3760–87)
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Abstract

Providing information about contributions to public goods is known to generate further contributions. However, it is often impossible to provide verifiable information on contributions. Through a large-scale field experiment and a series of laboratory experiments, I show that nonbinding announcements of support for a public good encourage others to contribute, even when actual contributions might not or cannot be made. Providing a way to easily announce support for a charity increases donations by $865 per workplace fundraising campaign (or 16 percent of average giving). I discuss implications for understanding prosocial behavior and for organizations aiming to increase contributions to public goods.

Citation

Kessler, Judd B. 2017. "Announcements of Support and Public Good Provision." 蝌蚪网 Review 107 (12): 3760–87. DOI: 10.1257/aer.20130711

Additional Materials

JEL Classification

  • C93 Field Experiments
  • D64 Altruism; Philanthropy; Intergenerational Transfers
  • D83 Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
  • H41 Public Goods
  • L31 Nonprofit Institutions; NGOs; Social Entrepreneurship