Generosity during Covid-19 the effect of social distancing and framing on donations in dictator games

Lotti, Lorenzo (2020): Generosity during Covid-19 the effect of social distancing and framing on donations in dictator games.

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of prolonged social distancing on generosity by analyzing the responses of 1255 US citizens to dictator games spread out over eight weeks of the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the isolation and the negative effects on employment and household finances, individuals became more generous over this time period. There is significant heterogeneity in the effect of additional regressors,such as perceived contagion risk, on the likelihood and amount donated to strangers,family members, or the government. At the same time, significant effects of the position of games with respect to the others highlight the significant role of framing on generous behaviours.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Generosity, Dictator Game, Social Preferences, Framing, Altruism, Covid-19
• Subjects: C - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods > C7 - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory > C71 - Cooperative Games; D - Microeconomics > D6 - Welfare Economics > D63 - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement; D - Microeconomics > D6 - Welfare Economics > D64 - Altruism ; Philanthropy; D - Microeconomics > D7 - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making > D71 - Social Choice ; Clubs ; Committees ; Associations; D - Microeconomics > D9 - Intertemporal Choice > D91 - Intertemporal Household Choice ; Life Cycle Models and Saving; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I1 - Health > I14 - Health and Inequality

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