Opting-In to Prosocial Incentives

25 Pages Posted: 27 Feb 2018

See all articles by Daniel Schwartz

Daniel Schwartz

University of Chile

Elizabeth Keenan

University of California, San Diego (UCSD) - Rady School of Management

Alex Imas

University of Chicago - Booth School of Business

Ayelet Gneezy

University of California, San Diego (UCSD) - Rady School of Management

Date Written: January 24, 2018

Abstract

Prior work has demonstrated that prosocial incentives – where individuals’ effort benefits a charitable organization – can be more effective than standard incentives, particularly when the stakes are low. Yet, little is known about the effectiveness of prosocial incentives on people’s decisions to participate or opt-in to the incentivized activity in the first place. We examined the effectiveness of prosocial incentives on people’s participation decisions using two distinct field experiments, one that sought to encourage recycling and the other that incentivized completion of effortful tasks. Across both studies, we found that individuals were more likely to avoid activities that involved prosocial incentives, compared to standard incentives, regardless of incentive size, and even when the donation was optional. Our results identify a significant limit for the scope of prosocial incentives as effective motivation tools.

Keywords: decision making, incentives, prosocial behavior, field experiments

Suggested Citation

Schwartz, Daniel and Keenan, Elizabeth and Imas, Alex and Gneezy, Ayelet, Opting-In to Prosocial Incentives (January 24, 2018). CESifo Working Paper Series No. 6840, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3130033 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3130033

Daniel Schwartz

University of Chile ( email )

Beauchef 851
Santiago, R. Metropolitana
Chile

Elizabeth Keenan

University of California, San Diego (UCSD) - Rady School of Management ( email )

9500 Gilman Drive
Rady School of Management
La Jolla, CA 92093
United States

Alex Imas (Contact Author)

University of Chicago - Booth School of Business ( email )

5807 S. Woodlawn Avenue
Chicago, IL 60637
United States

Ayelet Gneezy

University of California, San Diego (UCSD) - Rady School of Management ( email )

9500 Gilman Drive
Rady School of Management
La Jolla, CA 92093
United States

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