NSF Org:	SES Division of Social and Economic Sciences
Recipient:	UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN SYSTEM
Initial Amendment Date:	February 22, 2000
Latest Amendment Date:	February 22, 2000
Award Number:	9911252
Award Instrument:	Standard Grant
Program Manager:	Daniel H. Newlon SES  Division of Social and Economic Sciences SBE  Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences
Start Date:	July 1, 2000
End Date:	June 30, 2004 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount:	$254,638.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date:	$254,638.00
Funds Obligated to Date:	FY 2000 = $254,638.00
History of Investigator:	James Andreoni (Principal Investigator) andreoni@ucsd.edu
Recipient Sponsored Research Office:	University of Wisconsin-Madison 21 N PARK ST STE 6301 MADISON WI  US  53715-1218 (608)262-3822
Sponsor Congressional District:	02
Primary Place of Performance:	University of Wisconsin-Madison 21 N PARK ST STE 6301 MADISON WI  US  53715-1218
Primary Place of Performance Congressional District:	02
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI):	LCLSJAGTNZQ7
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s):	Economics, Decision, Risk & Mgmt Sci
Primary Program Source:	app-0100
Program Reference Code(s):	0000, OTHR
Program Element Code(s):	132000, 132100
Award Agency Code:	4900
Fund Agency Code:	4900
Assistance Listing Number(s):	47.075

ABSTRACT

This research project examines altruistic, charitable and cooperative behavior using theoretical, experimental and standard econometric analysis. The proposal has three parts. Part I consists of four theoretical studies on private giving to public goods, such as charities. The first two studies explore institutions of fundraising to understand how they may increase charitable contributions. Two other studies explore the nature of altruism and "warm glows" to giving. Part II provides four econometric studies of charitable giving. These include analysis of gifts by married couples, hence exploring models of the provision of household public goods and the specialization of tasks within the household. These will add to the growing literature on household decisions as well as to that on charitable giving. There is also a study of how government grants to charities affect fundraising expenditures of charities as well as donations. Part III sketches nine experimental projects on three main topics. The first topic is the nature of altruistic preferences. Several controlled experiments uncover what factors produce altruism and fairness by letting subjects reveal their preferences in a number of different circumstances. The second experimental topic looks at the fundamental game theory models that we use to identify fairness. For instance, is subgame perfection a valid way of thinking about ultimatum games if fairness were not a concern of subjects? These experiments try to shed light on this question. The third experimental topic is how institutional choice interacts with preferences for fairness. Are there (realistic) features of institutions that may be benign in the absence of fairness and other social concerns, but which promote efficiency in light of these social preferences? This question is explored from a number of different perspectives. As a whole, the purpose of the projects proposed here is to gain a greater understanding of why and how people behave in fair and altruistic ways, and to understand how the world has been shaped to take advantage of these moral preferences in order to promote efficiency.

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