The effects of economic austerity on pro-sociality: Evidence from Greece. A new GLO Discussion Paper by GLO Fellow Elena Nikolova & colleagues.

A new GLO Discussion Paper reveals a strong relationship between job loss in the household and decreased altruism.

Elena Nikolova

GLO Discussion Paper No. 1144, 2022

The effects of economic austerity on pro-sociality: Evidence from Greece  Download PDF
by Sambanis, Nicholas & Nikolova, Elena & Schultz, Anna

GLO Fellow Elena Nikolova

Author Abstract: The European sovereign debt crisis resulted in policies of fiscal austerity and economic downturn in Greece, marked by a prolonged period of recession and high unemployment. This article explores the social impact of the economic crisis, focusing on its effects on altruism using new household-level survey data and quasi-behavioral outcomes. We focus on the effects of joblessness, the most severe form of economic hardship imposed as a result of the crisis. Our findings reveal a strong relationship between job loss in the household and decreased altruism. We provide experimental evidence of these effects and of in-group bias in charitable giving as a result of joblessness. Our results show that joblessness intensifies survey respondents’ preferences for national as opposed to foreign charities.

JUST PUBLISHED
Vol. 35, Issue 4, October 2022: Journal of Population Economics (JOPE): 15 articles
https://link.springer.com/journal/148/volumes-and-issues/35-4
Just released: CiteScore of JOPE moves up from 3.9 (2020) to 6.5 (2021)! LINK
Similar, its Impact Factor is now 4.7 (2021) after 2.8 (2020)! LINK

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