Conclusion
On the whole the evidence lends support to the hypothesis that social pressure affects the level of charitable contributions. We find, however, that the form of the pressure is an important determinant of the size of health contributions. Personal forms of solicitation appear to increase contributions, relative to impersonal forms such as media advertisements and mail campaigns. Within the class of personal solicitations, we find that pressure to give which is exerted by friends is more effective than requrests by strangers. Limited evidence was also found that some workplace relationships result in more effective fund-raising when compared to solicitations by strangers.
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References
Ireland, Thomas R. and David B. Johnson.The Economics of Charity. Blacksburg, Virginia: Center for the Study of Public Choice, 1970.
Morgan, James N., Martin David, Wilbur Cohen, and Harvey Brazer.Income and Welfare in the United States. New York: McGraw Hill, 1962, pp. 257–287.
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I thank Russell Settle and Burton Weisbrod for helpful comments on an earlier draft of this material. The research reported here was supported in part by the Franklin and Marshall College Research Fund.
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Long, S.H. Social pressure and contributions to health charities. Public Choice 28, 55–66 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01718457
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01718457