Intertemporal Altruism

By: Felix Chopra, Armin Falk and Thomas Graeber

Format:Print
| Language:English
| Pages:124

Abstract

Most prosocial decisions involve intertemporal tradeoffs. Yet, the timing of prosocial utility flows is ambiguous and bypassed by most models of other-regarding preferences. We study the behavioral implications of the time structure of prosocial utility, leveraging a conceptual distinction between consequence-dated and choice-dated utility flows. We conduct a high-stakes donation experiment that comprehensively characterizes discounting behavior in self-other tradeoffs and allows us to identify different prosocial motives from their distinct time profiles. Our data can only be explained by a combination of choice- and consequencedated prosocial utility. Both motives are pervasive and negatively correlated at the individual level.

Keywords

Altruism; Donation; Intertemporal Decision-making; Time Inconsistency

Citation

Chopra, Felix, Armin Falk, and Thomas Graeber. "Intertemporal Altruism." Working Paper, August 2022. (R&R at American Economic Journal Microeconomics.)