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Fair weather avoidance: unpacking the costs and benefits of “Avoiding the Ask”

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2025

Hannah Trachtman ,
Andrew Steinkruger ,
Mackenzie Wood ,
Adam Wooster ,
James Andreoni ,
James J. Murphy  and
Justin M. Rao
Hannah Trachtman
Affiliation:
Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
Andrew Steinkruger
Affiliation:
University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, AK, USA
Mackenzie Wood
Affiliation:
University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, AK, USA
Adam Wooster
Affiliation:
University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, AK, USA
James Andreoni*
Affiliation:
University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA NBER, Cambridge, MA, USA
James J. Murphy
Affiliation:
University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, AK, USA Nankai University, Tianjin, China Chapman University, Orange, CA, USA
Justin M. Rao
Affiliation:
Microsoft Research, New York, NY, USA
*
e-mail: andreoni@ucsd.edu
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Abstract

If being asked to give to charity stimulates an emotional response, like empathy, that makes giving difficult to resist, a natural self-control mechanism might be to avoid being asked in the first place. We replicate a result from a field experiment that points to the role of empathy in giving. We conduct an experiment in a large superstore in which we solicit donations to charity and randomly allow shoppers the opportunity to avoid solicitation by using the other door. We find the rate of avoidance by store entrants to be 8.9 %. However, we also find that the avoidance effect disappears in very cold weather, suggesting that avoidance behavior is sensitive to its cost.

Keywords

AltruismCharityEmpathyGivingSocial pressureAvoiding the AskField experimentExperimental economics

JEL classification

D64: Altruism • Philanthropy • Intergenerational Transfers H41: Public Goods
Type
Original Paper
Information
Journal of the Economic Science Association , Volume 1 , Issue 1 , July 2015 , pp. 8 - 14
Copyright
Copyright © Economic Science Association 2015

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