Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Series: Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers
Creation-Date: 2025-03-28
Number: 25-023/I
Author-Name: Cristina Figueroa
Author-Workplace-Name: University of Amsterdam and Tinbergen Institute
Author-Name: Jantsje Mol
Author-Workplace-Name: University of Amsterdam and Tinbergen Institute
Author-Name: Ivan Soraperra
Author-Workplace-Name: Max Planck Institute for Human Development
Author-Name: Joël Van der Weele
Author-Workplace-Name: University of Amsterdam and Tinbergen Institute
Title: Giving as a self-control problem
Abstract: Social preferences depend on emotional states like compassion and anger. Since emotions are fleeting and subject to manipulation, they may generate demand for commitment. We investigate the use of commitment strategies in an online experiment (n=1,400), where subjects decide to watch or avoid videos before engaging in a charitable giving task. We find that a video with emotional content increases giving, but is also avoided more than non-emotional videos. We estimate a structural model of state-dependent social preferences, and show evidence for sophisticated commitment to selfishness and altruism. We argue that giving can be fruitfully analyzed as a self-control problem.
Classification-JEL:
Keywords:
File-URL: https://papers.tinbergen.nl/25023.pdf
File-Format: application/pdf
File-Size: 3.201.952 bytes
Handle: RePEc:tin:wpaper:20250023