AUCTIONS FOR CHARITY: THE CURSE OF THE FAMILIAR. (30th December 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Carpenter, Jeffrey; Damianov, Damian S.; Matthews, Peter Hans
• Is Part Of: International economic review. Volume 63:Number 3(2022)
• Page Start: 1109
• Page End: 1135
• Publication Date: 2021-12-30
• Subjects: Economics -- Periodicals; 330.05
• DOI: 10.1111/iere.12559
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0020-6598

Abstract

Abstract: Auctions and raffles are commonly used to fund public goods. We run fundraising events in the field at the meetings of a well‐known service organization across the United States to examine the fundraising properties of five mechanisms: one that is common in the literature, two that are familiar to practitioners in the field, and two that are new. Consistent with a novel model assuming independent private attachments to the charity, we find large differences in the performance between the two most familiar formats, but these disparities are dwarfed by the differentials achieved using the new and less common formats.