Repeated pro-social behavior in the presence of economic interventions

- We study the effect of a charitable lottery and an income tax on repeated donations.
- Both interventions immediately raise total contributions.
- Donors continue to give more in a subsequent decision.
- The subject's ethical mindset explains heterogeneity in behavior.

We investigate the immediate and subsequent effects of two prominent drivers of charitable giving: a charitable lottery and an income tax. Employing a modified two-round dictator game with the subject's charity of choice as recipient, we find increased immediate donations in the presence of both a charitable lottery and an income tax. We observe positive spillover effects for both treatments, after removing the incentives. Spillovers are particularly observable for participants who express a deontological mindset.