Polarization in Environmental Donations: Application to Deforestation-Prevention Donation

One common fundraising strategy used by nonprofit organizations is providing information to persuade potential donors. We theoretically and empirically analyze how information affects people's willingness to donate. Our theory suggests when people have different initial beliefs, new information...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Land economics 2023-02, Vol.99 (1), p.122-140
Main Authors: Long, Dede, Liu, Hongxing, Nayga, Rodolfo M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Deforestation
Donations
Donors
Empirical analysis
Fund raising
Health information
Nonprofit organizations
Norms
Polarization
Prevention
Public health
Rationalization
Social norms
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Description
Summary:One common fundraising strategy used by nonprofit organizations is providing information to persuade potential donors. We theoretically and empirically analyze how information affects people's willingness to donate. Our theory suggests when people have different initial beliefs, new information leads to polarization through their understanding and rationalization of social norms. We provide empirical support using an online experiment, demonstrating that environmental and public health information leads to polarization in deforestation prevention donations. Being exposed to information opposite of individuals' existing beliefs reinforces their current opinions. Our results emphasize that implementing information treatment calls for careful deliberation.
ISSN:0023-7639
1543-8325
DOI:10.3368/le.080921-0092R