Klinowski, David
(2016)
Non-Monetary Incentives for Economic Behavior.
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
This dissertation studies the effectiveness of various non-monetary incentives in encouraging economically-relevant behavior. Chapter 1 looks at the provision of information about others’ donations as a way to increase contributions to charity. Results from a laboratory experiment show that when individuals donate out of image concerns, informing them in the early stages of a solicitation campaign about small contributions from others increases the extensive and intensive margins of giving. A central contribution is to demonstrate that the timing of the information—and not just its content—greatly affects donation behavior. Chapter 2 delves into the recent and booming phenomenon of crowdfunding to study the effect of goal setting on charitable giving. Using a dataset from a nation wide crowdfunding platform, it is shown that donors make larger contributions, at a faster pace, in order to be the ones who reach the recipients’ fundraising targets. Results indicate that the behavior is motivated by donors deriving a heightened feeling of impact during completion. The Chapter thus provides insight into what mechanisms work and why in the understudied environment that is crowdfunding for charity. Finally, Chapter 3 shifts gears and studies the exertion of effort in the workplace. It explores in a laboratory experiment whether giving workers autonomy through delegation of contract choice intrinsically motivates effort. The Chapter finds a null result under several specifications, casting doubt on an intrinsic link between autonomy and motivation of effort. Altogether this dissertation contributes to the understanding of how and why non-monetary incentives serve—or fail to serve—as powerful means of directing economic behavior.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
|
| ETD Committee: |
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| Date: |
30 September 2016 |
| Date Type: |
Publication |
| Defense Date: |
20 June 2016 |
| Approval Date: |
30 September 2016 |
| Submission Date: |
6 July 2016 |
| Access Restriction: |
5 year -- Restrict access to University of Pittsburgh for a period of 5 years. |
| Number of Pages: |
116 |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > Economics |
| Degree: |
PhD - Doctor of Philosophy |
| Thesis Type: |
Doctoral Dissertation |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
Charitable giving, behavioral economics, experimental economics |
| Date Deposited: |
30 Sep 2016 15:45 |
| Last Modified: |
30 Sep 2021 05:15 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/28545 |
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