The U -shaped income-giving profile, where those in the lower and higher income brackets give higher percentages of their income to charity, has been the subject of much dispute. Examining data from 16,442 households, the authors find clear evidence of a U -shaped relationship. Previous findings contradicting the U -shaped profile are shown to suffer from selection bias that systematically deflates reported lower-income giving levels. Although the U -shaped profile is an appropriate descriptor, it does not reflect typical household behavior. Instead, it is driven almost entirely by the 5% of households that contribute one tenth or more of their after-tax income. Traditionally, the presence of so many highly committed, low-income households has been attributed to religious sect affiliation by the poor. The authors find an additional explanation in that these highly committed, lower-income households are dramatically wealthier than other members of their income classification, in part reflecting the presence of lower-income, higher-asset, retirement-aged households.

Residential satisfaction, Tenant, Renter, Elderly, Homeownership, Multifamily housing,

No abstract

Previous research has demonstrated that the generally positive relationship between age and the presence of charitable giving becomes negative at the oldest ages. We investigate potential causes of this drop in charitable giving among the oldest old including changes in health, cognition, egocentric networks, religious attendance, and substitution of charitable bequest planning. A longitudinal analysis of data from the United States Health and Retirement Survey indicates that the drop in charitable giving is mediated largely by changes in the frequency of church attendance, with only modest influences from changes in health and cognition.

An examination of the charitable giving behavior of 16,442 households reveals intriguing patterns consistent with the clubtheoretic approach to religious sect affiliation. The club-theoretic model suggests that individuals with lower socioeconomic standing will rationally be more likely to align themselves with exclusivistic sects. Because sect affiliation is also associated with more obligatory religious contributions, this approach generates novel predictions not anticipated by standard economic models of charitable behavior. Traditional analysis of charitable giving can mask the "sect effect" phenomenon, as low-income giving is dwarfed by the giving of the wealthy. However, the application of a two-stage econometric model-separating the participation decision from the subsequent decision regarding the level of gifting-provides unique insights. Basic socioeconomic factors have significant and opposite associations with different categories of giving, calling into question the treatment of charitable giving as a homogenous activity and supporting the understanding of sect affiliation, and potentially religious extremism, as rational choice phenomena.The study of charitable giving, and in particular the religious component of charitable giving, holds the promise of generating significant insights when both economic and sociological perspectives are employed. Religious charitable giving is by far the largest and most