Altruism: Theories and Practice

Humans are remarkably generous. Americans, for instance, donate roughly 3% of GDP to charity and volunteer over 4% of hours worked. Yet, our generosity is replete with quirks. We are highly sensitive to whether a gift originates with us--and especially whether its seen originating with us--but care less about whether the gift was needed or impactful. Indeed, highly ineffective charities persist for decades even in the presence of far more effective alternatives engaged in identical activities. The same people who are quick to give when asked are even quicker to 'avoid the ask' or take advantage of a plausible excuse. And, we often care deeply not just whether someone did a good turn but their motive for doing it. We'll discuss the origins of human generosity and its accompanying quirks, and also develop practical takeaways in the form of guidance for the design of interventions to motivate more altruistic behaviors. The class draws upon a diversity of literatures and methods, including evolutionary dynamics, game theory, survey experiments, and field experiments. Expect weekly readings and to present about these readings in class, a handful of optional problem sets, and a final project in which you incorporate some of the course material into your research via e.g., a literature review, a novel experiment design, or a novel intervention.