Giving to Africa and perceptions of poverty

Alvin Etang, David Fielding*, Stephen Knowles

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

We conduct two simple experiments in which student participants are invited to give some of the money that they have earned to an international development charity for use in one of two African countries. In the between-groups experiment, participants are given the opportunity to donate to one country only. They are matched randomly with a country, and are given information about why that country might be poor; the information varies between the two treatments. In the within-group experiment, participants are given the opportunity to donate to either or both of the countries, and are given all of the information. Analysis of the results indicates that the effect of the difference in experimental design on the decisions made depends partly on observable participant characteristics. The results can be interpreted in terms of a model incorporating self-image.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)819-832
Number of pages14
JournalJournal of Economic Psychology
Volume33
Issue number4
Early online date13 Mar 2012
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2012

Keywords

  • charitable behavior
  • decision making

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Giving to Africa and perceptions of poverty'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this