Subsidizing Charitable Contributions: A Field Test Comparing Matching and Rebate Subsidies
Abstract
We report the results of a field experiment conducted in conjunction with a mailed fundraising campaign of a nonprofit organization. The experiment is designed to compare the response of donors to subsidies in the form of matching amounts or rebated amounts. Matching subsidies are used by many corporations as an employee benefit; the US federal tax system encourages giving using a rebate subsidy by making donations tax deductible. The design includes a control group and two levels of subsidy of each type. Our main result is that matching subsidies result in larger total donations to charities than rebate subsidies, a result that is qualitatively similar to the lab findings. The estimated price elasticities for the matching subsidy are very similar to (and insignificantly different from) the lab experiments, while rebate subsidies lead to lower contributions in the field than in the lab. Since rebates in the field involve substantial lags and additional complications as compared with the âinstant rebatesâ of the lab, this latter difference is not unexpected. The matching results are an important step in validating lab estimates of responsiveness to subsidies of charitable giving.(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)
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Paper provided by The Field Experiments Website in its series Working Papers with number 2098.Length: 28 pages
Date of creation: 2005
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:feb:wpaper:2098
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Web page: http://www.fieldexperiments.com
Related research
Keywords: Charitable Fundraising;Other versions of this item:
- Catherine Eckel & Philip Grossman, 2005. "Subsidizing charitable contributions: A field test comparing matching and rebate subsidies," Framed Field Experiments 00145, The Field Experiments Website.
References
References listed on IDEASPlease report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
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Citations
Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.Cited by:
- Rachel Croson & Jen Shang, 2006. "Field experiments in charitable contribution: The impact of social influence on the voluntary provision of public goods," Natural Field Experiments 00323, The Field Experiments Website.
- Levitt, Steven D. & List, John A., 2009.
"Field experiments in economics: The past, the present, and the future,"
European Economic Review,
Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 1-18, January.
- Steven D. Levitt & John A. List, 2008. "Field Experiments in Economics: The Past, The Present, and The Future," NBER Working Papers 14356, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
- Steven Levitt & John List, 2009. "Field experiments in economics: The past, the present, and the future," Artefactual Field Experiments 00079, The Field Experiments Website.
- John List, 2008.
"Introduction to field experiments in economics with applications to the economics of charity,"
Artefactual Field Experiments
00085, The Field Experiments Website.
- John List, 2008. "Introduction to field experiments in economics with applications to the economics of charity," Experimental Economics, Springer, vol. 11(3), pages 203-212, September.
- Michel André Maréchal & Christian Thöni, 2007.
"Do Managers Reciprocate? Field Experimental Evidence From a Competitive Market,"
University of St. Gallen Department of Economics working paper series 2007
2007-09, Department of Economics, University of St. Gallen.
- Michel Marechal & Christian Thoni, 2007. "Do managers reciprocate? Field experimental evidence from a competitive market," Natural Field Experiments 00310, The Field Experiments Website.
- Stephan Meier, 2006. "Does framing matter for conditional cooperation? Evidence from a natural field experiment," Natural Field Experiments 00309, The Field Experiments Website.
- Rachel Croson & Jen Shang, 2008.
"The impact of downward social information on contribution decisions,"
Natural Field Experiments
00322, The Field Experiments Website.
- Rachel Croson & Jen Shang, 2008. "The impact of downward social information on contribution decisions," Experimental Economics, Springer, vol. 11(3), pages 221-233, September.
- Jen Shang & Rachel Croson, 2009. "A Field Experiment in Charitable Contribution: The Impact of Social Information on the Voluntary Provision of Public Goods," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 119(540), pages 1422-1439, October.
- Craig E. Landry & Andreas Lange & John A. List & Michael K. Price & Nicholas G. Rupp, 2006.
"Toward an Understanding of the Economics of Charity: Evidence from a Field Experiment,"
The Quarterly Journal of Economics,
MIT Press, vol. 121(2), pages 747-782, May.
- Craig Landry & Andreas Lange & John A. List & Michael K. Price & Nicholas G. Rupp, 2005. "Toward an Understanding of the Economics of Charity: Evidence from a Field Experiment," NBER Working Papers 11611, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
- Craig Landry & Andreas Lange & John List & Michael Price & Nicholas Rupp, 2006. "Toward an understanding of the economics of charity: Evidence from a field experiment," Natural Field Experiments 00292, The Field Experiments Website.
- Douglas D. Davis, 2006.
"Rebate Subsidies, Matching Subsidies and Isolation Effects,"
Working Papers
0604, VCU School of Business, Department of Economics.
- Douglas D. Davis, 2006. "Rebate subsidies, matching subsidies and isolation effects," Judgment and Decision Making, Society for Judgment and Decision Making, vol. 1, pages 13-22, July.
- Christina M. Fong & Erzo F.P. Luttmer, 2007.
"What Determines Giving to Hurricane Katrina Victims? Experimental Evidence on Income, Race, and Fairness,"
NBER Working Papers
13219, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
- Fong, Christina M. & Luttmer, Erzo F. P., 2007. "What Determines Giving to Hurricane Katrina Victims? Experimental Evidence on Income, Race, and Fairness," Working Paper Series rwp07-032, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
- Christina Fong & Erzo Luttmer, 2007. "What determines giving to hurricane katrina victims? Experimental evidence on income, race, and fairness," Artefactual Field Experiments 00046, The Field Experiments Website.
- John A. List, 2007.
"Field Experiments: A Bridge Between Lab and Naturally-Occurring Data,"
NBER Working Papers
12992, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
- John A. List, 2007. "Field Experiments: A Bridge between Lab and Naturally Occurring Data," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 0(2), pages 8.
- John List, 2006. "Field experiments: A bridge between lab and naturally occurring data," Artefactual Field Experiments 00083, The Field Experiments Website.
- Catherine C. Eckel & Philip J. Grossman, 2006. "Subsidizing Charitable Contributions in the Field: Evidence from a Non-Secular Charity," Monash Economics Working Papers archive-44, Monash University, Department of Economics.
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