From September 6 – 7, 2017, Dr. Ragan Petrie presented the keynote address at the fourth Science of Philanthropy Initiative (SPI) Conference at the University of Chicago.

The title of Dr. Petrie’s talk was “Motives and Impediments to Give: Evidence from Field Experiments.” There are many reasons individuals are motivated to give to charity, including a desire to help, a connection to the cause, recognition, and because they were asked. At the same time, individuals may not give due to a lack of interest, not having the time, or the nuisance of finding a cause and making a donation. Drawing on evidence from field experiments on charitable giving, this talk explored various motives and impediments to giving.

Additionally, two TAMU experimental economics PhD students also attended and participated in the conference. Billur Aksoy (fifth-year doctoral student) presented “Donors’ Response to News: When Does Less Information Translate into More Giving?” Mackenzie Alston (fourth-year doctoral student) presented “High-Income Donors’ Preferences for Charitable Giving.”

SPI is a research and outreach project that utilizes rigorous quantitative methods and partnerships with the philanthropic community to explore the motivations behind charitable giving. The overarching goal of SPI is to develop a deeper understanding of the types of social preferences that shape philanthropic giving and to apply this knowledge to both practitioners and policymakers interested in philanthropy and the private provision of public goods.