Hostname: page-component-7b9c58cd5d-hxdxx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-03-16T16:18:30.354Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Charitable Lottery Structure and Fund Raising: Theory and Evidence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2025

Donald J. Dale*
Affiliation:
Muhlenberg College

Abstract

Do fixed-prize charitable lotteries generate more net revenue than do revenue-dependent lotteries? I present the results of an experiment designed to test a theoretical prediction of the relationship between the prize structure of a lottery funding a public good and individuals’ participation in the lottery. I find that a fixed-prize lottery configuration induces significantly greater participation and a significantly higher level of public good funding than does a revenue-dependent lottery.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © 2004 Economic Science Association

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anderson, S.P., Goeree, J.K., and Holt, C.A. (1998). “A Theoretical Analysis of Altruism and Decision Error in Public Goods Games.” Journal of Public Economics. 70(2), 247323.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Andreoni, J. (1988). “Privately Provided Public Goods in a Large Economy: The Limits of Altruism.” Journal of Public Economics. 35(1), 5773.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Andreoni, J. (1990). “Impure Altruism and Donations to Public Goods: A Theory of Warm Glow Giving?Economic Journal. 100, 464477.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dale, D. and Morgan, J. (1999). “Fairness Equilibria and the Private Provision of Public Goods.” Princeton University, mimeo.Google Scholar
Davis, D. and Holt, C. (1993). Experimental Economics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Isaac, R.M. and Walker, J.M. (1998). “Group Size Effects in Public Goods Provision: The Voluntary Contributions Mechanism.” Quarterly Journal of Economics. 103(1), 179199.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kahneman, D. and Tversky, A. (1979). “Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision Under Risk.” Econometrica. 47, 263291.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ledyard, J.O. (1995). “Public Goods: A Survey of Experimental Research.” In Kegel, J. and Roth, A. (eds.), The Handbook of Experimental Economics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Marks, M. and Croson, R. (1999). “The Effects of Alternative Rebate Rules in the Provision Point Mechanism of Voluntary contributions: An Experimental Investigation.” Journal of Public Economics. 67(2), 195220.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morgan, J. (2000). “Financing Public Goods by Means of Lotteries.” Review of Economic Studies. 67, 761784.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morgan, J. and Sefton, M. (2000) “Funding Public Goods with Lotteries: Experimental Evidence.” Review of Economic Studies. 67, 785810.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Palfrey, T.R. and Prisbey, J.E. (1997). “Anomalous Behavior in Public Goods Experiments: How Much and Why?American Economic Review. 87(5), 829846.Google Scholar
Tullock, G. (1967). “The Welfare Cost of Tariffs, Monopolies, and Theft.” Western Economic Journal. 5, 224232.Google Scholar
Willinger, M. and Ziegelmeyer, A. (1999) “Non-Cooperative Behavior in a Public Good Experiment with Interior Solution.” Working Paper BETA 9922, December 1999.Google Scholar