Redesigning the Market for Volunteers: A Donor Registry

Volunteer markets, such as blood donations can suffer recurring (periods of excess demand and excess supply, due to a lack of price signals and the altruistic motivations of their volunteers. This paper designs and implements a Registry, that improves market coordination by exploiting the behavioral...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Garbarino, Ellen, Heger, Stephanie, Slonim, Robert, Wang, Carmen, Waller, Daniel
Format: Conference Proceeding
Language:English
Subjects:
Altruism
Blood & organ donations
Bone marrow
Volunteers
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Volunteer markets, such as blood donations can suffer recurring (periods of excess demand and excess supply, due to a lack of price signals and the altruistic motivations of their volunteers. This paper designs and implements a Registry, that improves market coordination by exploiting the behavioral preferences of volunteers. Registries have been shown to be an effective coordination tools in other markets, such as kidneys replacements, bone marrow donation, and entry-level labor markets. We find that the Registry is effective at improving market outcomes, increasing donation rates among long-lapsed donors, it does so by crowding-in volunteers with pure motives and volunteers who have a preference for commitment. We find no evidence consistent with the Registry appealing to volunteers who experience solicitation disutility. Given past evidence in support of solicitation disutility that contrasts with our lack of evidence, future research exploring the boundaries of solicitation disutility is important.
ISSN:0098-9258