American Economic Journal:
Microeconomics
ISSN 1945-7669 (Print) | ISSN 1945-7685 (Online)
The 1/d Law of Giving
American Economic Journal: Microeconomics
vol. 2,
no. 1, February 2010
(pp. 183–203)
Abstract
We combine survey data on friendship networks and individual characteristics with experimental observations from dictator games. Dictator offers are primarily explained by social distance, giving follows a simple inverse distance law. While student demographics play a minor role in explaining offer amounts, individual heterogeneity is important for network formation. In particular, we detect significant homophilous behavior; students connect to others similar to themselves. Moreover, the network data reveal a strong preference for cliques, students connect to those already close. The study is one of the first to identify network architecture with individual behavior in a strategic context. (JEL D44, H82)Citation
Goeree, Jacob K., Margaret A. McConnell, Tiffany Mitchell, Tracey Tromp, and Leeat Yariv. 2010. "The 1/d Law of Giving." American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, 2 (1): 183–203. DOI: 10.1257/mic.2.1.183Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D44 Auctions
- H82 Governmental Property
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