Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to offer two empirical analyses of differences in the donations of money and time between males and females based on the impact of identical variables on the donation of money and time. Analysis was made of not only how a person's giving patterns are determined for both sexes, but also what portion of differences in giving patterns can be explained by observable and unobservable characteristics between men and women. Design/methodology/approach -The US dataset Giving and Volunteering 1999 was used in the study. Findings -It was found that, on average, women are predicted to donate more of both money and time. Variables affecting money donations are significant and robust for both males and females, whereas the variation in time donation is poorly explained by the same variables. A substantial portion of the money and time donation differential gap (over 85 percent in time donation) is unexplained by mean levels of characteristics such as, wage, age and experience. Practical implications -While the issue of whether altruism is innate or the product of socialization is not addressed, these results imply that women bring an extra willingness to give and to volunteer than do men. As women gain economic power in the marketplace, this may result in even more giving and volunteering, creating a windfall to organizations that rely on such donations. Originality/value -Organizations that rely on women for donations of time and money may find these results interesting. They imply that women are motivated by forces not easily captured by a traditional wage equation, especially when looking at donations of time.

The authors examine data on giving and volunteering to determine whether public provision of social services and other public goods affects donations of time and money and provides evidence of crowding out. They find a negative and statistically significant relationship between government spending and donations of money and time. They also find that volunteers have demographic and other characteristics that are associated with high values of time and money.

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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the linkage between obesity and motor vehicle deaths.Design/methodology/approachThe paper specifies a model that explains highway fatalities, which accounts for obesity in its set of potential determinants. State‐level data are utilized in this paper. The values for all variables are for the year 2005. They correspond to 46 of the contiguous states for all measures. The model is estimated by multiple regressions.FindingsThe paper finds that the motor vehicle death rate (fatalities per million vehicle miles) has a statistically significant positive relationship with the percentage of the population that is obese. The death rate also has significant positive associations with the percentage of elderly male drivers, per capita alcohol consumption, and temperature; and it has significant negative relationships with per capita income, the percentage of elderly female drivers, seat belt use, and precipitation.Practical implicationsThe estimates of this paper have various policy implications. For example, the findings pertaining to occupant body weight imply that efforts leading to a decline in the prevalence of obesity will also lower the highway death risk. Results suggest that obesity increases this death risk by contributing to more accidents. If so, measures that reduce obesity‐related unsafe driving behaviors (e.g. increased chance of falling asleep while driving) could save lives.Originality/valueThe paper adds to the research on the relationship between highway safety and obesity. The paper's unique contributions include estimating the linkage between obesity and motor vehicle deaths by regression analysis on US state‐level data for 2005 within a model that controls for economic conditions and other considerations such as driver and passenger characteristics, locational factors, government regulations, and weather conditions.

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Using the Oaxaca-Blinder (1994) decomposition method to compare the giving levels of money and time of those who claim to attend religious services on a regular basis with those who do not, we find that on average religious people donate more money and time than non-religious people; although a large portion of the average difference is unexplained. We propose that these differences arise from a culture of giving in which religious people are embedded. It may be that individuals who are religious are more likely to be exposed to a culture that encourages giving and volunteering, and will therefore be more likely to give and volunteer.

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We analyzed the factors determining the amount of the recovery on claims based on medical malpractice. Our data set, which previously was not explored, consists of 20,428 claims arising within Michigan that were closed between 1978 and 1990. During this period, major changes were made in the law governing malpractice litigation. We determine the effect of these changes and of various other factors affecting medical malpractice claims. We analyze the effect of a statute that was designed to curtail "forum shopping" by attorneys for plaintiffs. This statute was initially successful in curbing such activity, but its effect seems to be diminishing. In addition, we compare mediation awards with settlement payments, and settlement payments with the expected value of claims in litigation. Evidence suggests that a mediation award is the mediation panel's estimate of a settlement payment appropriate for the case, and that cases are settled for substantially less than their expected value at trial.