Scandinavian Working Papers in Economics
Working Papers in Economics,
University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics
No 542: Do people avoid opportunities to donate? A natural field experiment on recycling and charitable giving
Mikael Knutsson, Peter Martinsson () and Conny Wollbrant ()
Additional contact information
Mikael Knutsson: Dept of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, Postal: P.O.Box , SE 40530 GÖTEBORG, Sweden
Peter Martinsson: Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University, Postal: P.O.Box 640, SE 40530 GÖTEBORG, Sweden
Conny Wollbrant: Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University, Postal: P.O.Box 640, SE 405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden
Abstract: We use a natural field experiment to investigate the hypothesis that generosity is partly involuntary, by examining whether individuals tend to avoid opportunities to act generously. In Sweden, new recycling machines for bottles and cans with an option of donating the returned deposit to charity were gradually introduced in one of the largest store chains. We find a substantial decline in recycling the month these new machines were introduced and a further decline in the following months. These results indicate that individuals avoid opportunities to act generously and corroborate findings from both lab and field studies supporting the claim that generous behavior is partly involuntary
Keywords: Generosity; Donations; Natural field experiment; Avoidance behavior
18 pages, September 25, 2012
- Published as
- Mikael Knutsson, Peter Martinsson and Conny Wollbrant, (2013), 'Do people avoid opportunities to donate? A natural field experiment on recycling and charitable giving', Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, vol 93, pages 71-77
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