TY  - JOUR
AU  - Rondeau,Daniel
AU  - List,John A.
TI  - Matching and Challenge Gifts to Charity:Evidence from Laboratory and Natural Field Experiments
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 13728
PY  - 2008
Y2  - January 2008
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w13728
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w13728.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Daniel Rondeau
Department of Economics
University of Victoria
Victoria, BC, Canada V8W 2Y2
E-Mail: rondeau@uvic.ca

John List
Department of Economics
University of Chicago
1126 East 59th
Chicago, IL 60637
Tel: 301/405-1288
Fax: 301/314-9091
E-Mail: jlist@uchicago.edu
AB  - This study designs a natural field experiment linked to a controlled laboratory experiment to examine the effectiveness of matching gifts and challenge gifts, two popular strategies used to secure a portion of the $200 billion annually given to charities. We find evidence that challenge gifts positively influence contributions in the field, but matching gifts do not. Methodologically, we find important similarities and dissimilarities between behavior in the lab and the field. Overall, our results have clear implications for fundraisers and provide avenues for future empirical and theoretical work on charitable giving.
ER  -