Donations to beggars: investigating the impact of an increasing number of donation alternatives.pdf

Abstract: The presence of poverty on the streets in the form of begging is a growing social dilemma, and understanding what factors that influence our willingness to help the poor is of importance. This paper examines altruistic behaviour in the context of street begging. An experiment is conducted to test whether an increased number of donation alternatives have impact on donor behaviour. Our results suggest that the number of donation alternatives has no impact on donation patterns. We discuss our findings' theoretical implications and elucidate areas of prospective research.