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ResearchMarch 18, 2014

Shared joy is double joy: Girls are more generous than boys

Classic economic theory has long pursued the concept of homo economicus, which sees human beings as rational actors who are exclusively motivated by self-interest. More recently, this has been complemented by homo reciprocans, a concept describing cooperatively acting individuals who aim to improve their environment. Indeed, altruism has become one of the hottest topics in behavioral economics.

In a new IZA discussion paper, Silvia Angerer, Daniela Glätzle-Rützler, Philipp Lergetporer and Matthias Sutter shed light on the altruistic behavior of children. The researchers conducted an experiment with school-children from the bilingual (German-Italian) town of Meran, South Tyrol. Over 1,000 boys and girls received six tokens each, which they could either exchange for fruits and candy – or donate to a well-known charity for children in need. The 7 to 11-year-olds were not monitored or influenced when they made their decision.

The experiment generated a number of interesting findings:

  • The older the children, the more they donate. While 30% of the youngest children decided to donate nothing, only 13% of the oldest kept all their tokens for themselves. Remarkably, at age 10 and 11, the children acted almost like adults in comparable experiments.
  • Girls are more charitable than boys.
  • A higher IQ makes children more altruistic.
  • Having older brothers decreases children’s propensity to share.
  • There is no difference in altruism between German-speaking and Italian-speaking children.
  • Parents’ socioeconomic status (in terms of unemployment) has no effect on their children’s generosity.

IZA Discussion Paper No. 8080 Donations, Risk Attitudes and Time Preferences: A Study on Altruism in Primary School Children Silvia Angerer, Daniela Glätzle-Rützler, Philipp Lergetporer, Matthias Sutter

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