We investigate whether the presence of a default interacts with the willingness of decision-makers to gather, process and consider information. In an online experiment, where about 2,300 participants choose between two compiled charity donation options worth $ 100, we vary the availability of...

We investigate whether the presence of a default interacts with the willingness of decision-makers to gather, process and consider information. In an online experiment, where about 2,300 participants choose between two compiled charity donation options worth $100, we vary the availability of...

Several papers have documented that when subjects play with standard laboratory endowmentsʺ they make less self-interested choices then when they use money they have either earned through a laboratory task or brought from outside the lab. In the context of a charitable giving experiment we...

Abstract Previous experimental and observational work suggests that people act more generously when they are observed and observe others in social settings. But the explanation for this is unclear. An individual may want to send a signal of her generosity in order to improve her own reputation....

This dissertation presents three independent essays that elicit social preferences in school children by using a combination of experimental measures and survey data. Chapter 2 consider the development of motivations for helping in informal risk-sharing networks from a sample of school children...