Portuguese public collections and the economic cycle: a seminal study

Purpose – What are the motivations behind the Portuguese contributions to a public campaign promoted by the National League Against the Cancer? The purpose of this paper is to answer the question, considering the cyclical behaviour of the economy. Design/methodology/approach – A panel‐data approach was used. Findings – It was concluded that Portuguese contributions are significantly related to the local economic cycle. Thus, Portuguese give more if the local economy grows. However, it was verified that an increasing of the number of old people does promote less expressive donated values, which may be understood as deep implications of the decisions taken during a life‐cycle pattern (give during the work, save later). Originality/value – This is the first Portuguese study located in the field of the Economics of Giving .