Selection or indoctrination: Why do economics students donate less than the rest?

A substantial body of research suggests that economists are less generous than other professionals and that economics students are less generous than other students. Following Frey and Meier (2003), we address this question using administrative data on donations to social programs by students at the University of Washington. Our data set allows us to track student donations and microeconomics training over time in order to distinguish selection effects from indoctrination effects. We find that there is a selection effect for economics majors, who are less likely to donate than other students, and that there is an indoctrination effect for non-majors but not for majors. Women majors and non-majors are less likely to contribute than comparable men.

Research highlights
► We examine whether taking economics classes affects student donation behavior.
► Economics majors are less likely to donate than other non-majors.
► Taking economics classes makes non-majors less likely to donate.
► Taking economics classes does not make economics majors less likely to donate.
► There is an indoctrination effect for non-majors and a selection effect for majors.