Who gives? A literature review of predictors of charitable giving Part One: Religion, education, age and socialisation

Abstract

This is the first of two articles in which we present a comprehensive review of the multi-disciplinary academic literature on philanthropy, identifying the predictors of charitable giving. For each predictor, we discuss the evidence for the mechanisms that may explain why the predictor is correlated with giving. We conclude with a brief agenda for future research. In this first article we present the evidence on the relationship of giving with religion, education, age, and socialization.

Charitable Sporting Events as a Context for Building Adolescent Generosity: Examining the Role of Religiousness and Spirituality

“…Indeed, religion is often a primary context for self-transcendence in adolescents, and therefore, it is closely related to other forms of self-transcendence that are not specifically religious. In addition, religious persons are more likely to give of their time and energy to religiously affiliated groups [1]. Religious communities may foster a spirit of volunteerism and civic engagement.…”

“…There is ample evidence that religiosity is a factor in predicting at least certain kinds of generosity in adults (i.e., in-group generosity [1]), but this evidence is somewhat controversial, with small effects found in meta-analyses [2]. Moreover, fewer empirical studies have looked at spirituality and generosity in children and adolescents (compared to adults), and most studies with children and adolescents have established correlational associations rather than testing causal mechanisms of change.…”

Heterogeneity in Crowding-out: When Are Charitable Donations Responsive to Government Support?

“…First, people who are able to donate might also be better able to change their donations. It is known that people with a paid job and more wealth donate higher amounts than people who are not in paid labor or with lower wealth, and the higher educated donate more than the lower educated (Bekkers & Wiepking, 2011a;Wiepking & Bekkers, 2012). More financial resources also enable people to change their donations more easily because they decrease the marginal value of a dollar that can be spent on a public goal.…”

The Impact of Trust on Russians’ Participation in Charities

“…Предыдущие исследования детерминант просоциального поведения позволяют утверждать, что структурные ресурсы (например, пол, возраст, уровень образова-ния и дохода, семейное положение, наличие и возраст детей, социальные связи) заметно влияют на участие людей в денежных пожертвованиях и добровольческой работе [напр., Wilson, 2000;Мерсиянова, 2010;Мерсиянова, 2011;Мерсиянова, Корнеева, 2011;Bekkers, Wiepking, 2011a;Bekkers, Wiepking, 2011b]. В свою очередь, свидетельства влияния на участие в благотворительных практиках ми-ровоззренческих характеристик, в том числе таких, как обобщенное (социальное) доверие, межличностное доверие и доверие к НКО, весьма ограничены.…”