Altruism in individual and joint-giving decisions: What's gender got to do with it?

Abstract

This paper uses dictator experiments to examine gender differences in altruistic behavior in the United States when decisions are made individually and jointly. In anonymous individual giving to charity, women give substantially more than men, and in paired settings, mixed-sex groups give the most while all male pairs give the least. Evidence supports social information and negotiation effects as participants change giving toward that of their partners. Social image effects are found only in mixed-sex groups, indicating a gender-based component to the value of the social signal sent. Although men and women appear to have similar influence, the positive social image effect pushes giving in mixed-sex pairs above the sum of the members' individual gifts because the less altruistic partners (usually men) adjust their giving upward more than the more altruistic partners (usually women) reduce giving. Therefore, increasing women's participation in traditionally male spheres of decision making may result in more altruistic economic behavior.Altruism, gender, and experimental economics, JEL Codes: D64, J16, C92,

Charity and Gift Exchange: Cultural Effects

“…It appears that courtesy to females in FM team is token: it increases the likelihood of donation, but not the amount donated. Our results contrast with those of Kamas et al (2008), who found greater effect of social image in the male-female mixed environment and concluded that both males and females become more altruistic in the presence of opposite gender. Again, it appears likely that these differences are due to cultural norms governing cross-gender interactions.…”

“…Gender is among one of the consistent determinants of charitable behavior; relevant literature shows that females in general are usually more generous in charitable giving than males (Leslie et al 2013;Einolf 2011;Mesch et al 2011;Kamas, Preston, and Baum 2008;Piper and Schnepf 2008;Mesch et al 2006). A few of the studies also find that females are more generous in that a greater proportion contributes, but when they donate, men donate more (Piper and Schnepf 2008).…”

“…The exact relation between income and donation as share of income remains controversial in literature. Some studies found a U-shaped curve, such that giving as a share of income was highest among the poor and the very rich (Hodgkinson and Weitzman 1996;James and Sharpe 2007;Schervish and Havens 1995;Andreoni 2004), while other studies show that there is a linear downward trend for proportion of income donated (Breeze 2004;Hoge and Yang 1994;McClelland and Brooks 2004;Wiepking 2004;Wilhelm et al 2007;Kamas et al 2008). The highest absolute average donations were collected from the high-income group if analyzed in absolute terms.…”

Diversity in the Economics Profession: A New Attack on an Old Problem

“…Hoogendoorn, Oosterbeek, and van Praag (2013) randomly assign 550 undergraduate business students in Amsterdam to course project groups and find that mixed-gender groups display more intense mutual monitoring and produce better outcomes in a business-oriented scenario. Kamas, Preston, and Baum (2008) look at a group of 164 undergraduate students playing a "dictator" game in which they must split a sum of money between themselves and the American Red Cross. Women tend to give more than men, and a two-person male-female team gives more than the expected sum of what they would give playing alone.…”

Does Jewish Philanthropy Differ by Sex and Type of Giving?

“…20 Moreover, recent empirical research supports the increasing role that women overall play in economic and philanthropic decisionmaking. 21 Furthermore, according to a commentary on Jewish women's philanthropy written by Susan Weidman Schneider, "partnership is the model for most Jewish couples." 22 Jewish women make independent financial decisions and influence their husbands' giving decisions.…”