Defaults and Donations: Evidence from a Field Experiment

TY - JOUR

T1 - Defaults and Donations

T2 - Evidence from a Field Experiment

AU - Altmann, Steffen

AU - Falk, Armin

AU - Heidhues, Paul

AU - Jayaraman, Rajshri

AU - Teirlinck, Marrit

PY - 2019/12/1

Y1 - 2019/12/1

N2 - We study the effects of defaults on charitable giving in a large-scale field experiment on an online fundraising platform. We exogenously vary default options along two choice-dimensions—the charitable donation decision, and the “codonation” decision regarding how much to contribute to supporting the platform. We document a strong effect of defaults on individual behavior but, nevertheless, find that aggregate donation levels are unaffected by defaults. In contrast, codonations increase in the default amount. We complement our experimental results with a structural model that investigates whether personalizing defaults based on individuals’ donation histories can increase donation revenues.

AB - We study the effects of defaults on charitable giving in a large-scale field experiment on an online fundraising platform. We exogenously vary default options along two choice-dimensions—the charitable donation decision, and the “codonation” decision regarding how much to contribute to supporting the platform. We document a strong effect of defaults on individual behavior but, nevertheless, find that aggregate donation levels are unaffected by defaults. In contrast, codonations increase in the default amount. We complement our experimental results with a structural model that investigates whether personalizing defaults based on individuals’ donation histories can increase donation revenues.

KW - Faculty of Social Sciences

KW - Charitable Giving

KW - Default Options

KW - Online Platforms

KW - Field Experiment

U2 - 10.1162/rest_a_00774

DO - 10.1162/rest_a_00774

M3 - Journal article

SN - 0034-6535

JO - Review of Economics and Statistics

JF - Review of Economics and Statistics

ER -