We adopt a mixed methods approach to investigate whether and how heterogeneity in individual returns to a public good affects contributions. We engage smallholder farmers in Sri Lanka in: a one-shot, framed, lab-in-the-field experiment, within which the farmers' rates of return to the public...

Recent high-profile scandals related to misuse of funding and donations have raised the demand for scrutiny over financial transparency and operational activities of non-profit organizations in developed countries. Our analysis challenges the common practice in the sector of using programme...

Using a specially designed experiment, we investigate whether and how interdependence in risk exposure i.e., risk taking by some members of a potential risk sharing group affecting not only their own but also their co-members risk exposure, affects both risk taking and ex post sharing. The...

Can we use the lens of dual-system theories to explain altruistic behavior? In recent years this question has attracted the interest of both economists and psychologists. We contribute to this emerging literature, by reporting both the results of a meta-study of the literature and a new...

We measure the social norms of sharing income with kin and neighbors in villages in Kenya. We find a plurality of norms: from a strict norm prohibiting wealth accumulation to a norm facilitating saving. Several individual and social network characteristics predict the norms upheld; the pro-saving...

Improving ways to assess development efforts is an important task. Yet, little has been done to understand the connection between the effectiveness of NGOs and their financial accountability. We use Benford’s Law to assess accuracy of financial reports by a sample of Ugandan NGOs. We find 25%...