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HONEY, I JUST WANT TO HELP SAVE THE IOWA PLEISTOCENE SNAIL

October 17, 2005

You mean attractive donation solicitors get better results than ugly ones? Who knew? (via the TaxProf).

This study develops theory and uses a door-to-door fundraising field experiment to explore the economics of charity. We approached nearly 5000 households, randomly divided into four experimental treatments, to shed light on key issues on the demand side of charitable fundraising. Empirical results are in line with our theory: in gross terms, our lottery treatments raised considerably more money than our voluntary contributions treatments. Interestingly, we find that a one standard deviation increase in female solicitor physical attractiveness is similar to that of the lottery incentive.

Me, I don't look at the stunning, tall, slender blonde fund-raisers. I just donate for the tax deduction. Save the snails! Or whatever...

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