Married couples' charitable giving: Who and why

This research note looks beyond the unitary household model and analyzes the influence of household resources by gender on charitable giving. We investigate the intrahousehold variables of income and education and their effects on giving behaviors in married couples. We use data from the longitudinal Philanthropy Panel Study (2005–2017) to examine how spouses’ income and educational differences affect charitable giving behaviors and introduce fixed effects to control for unobserved heterogeneity. Initially, we find a positive relationship between both the husband’s and wife’s earned and unearned incomes and the likelihood and amount of giving by married couples. However, when fixed effects are used, we find women’s earned income to be significantly associated with all forms of giving, showing that women’s labor market earnings disproportionately influence giving behavior. Education is less of a factor in whether couples give and influences giving only when the husband has more education than the wife.

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Charitable Giving by Married Couples: Who Decides and Why Does It Matter?

The Journal of Human Resources ◽

10.2307/1558758 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 38 (1) ◽

pp. 111 ◽

Cited By ~ 142

Author(s):

James Andreoni ◽

Eleanor Brown ◽

Isaac Rischall

Keyword(s):

Charitable Giving ◽

Married Couples

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Charitable Giving by Married Couples Revisited

The Journal of Human Resources ◽

10.3368/jhr.45.2.497 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 45 (2) ◽

pp. 497-516 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Bariş K. Yörük

Keyword(s):

Charitable Giving ◽

Married Couples

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Charitable Giving by Married Couples

The Journal of Human Resources ◽

10.3368/jhr.xxxviii.1.111 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol XXXVIII (1) ◽

pp. 111-133 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

James Andreoni ◽

Eleanor Brown ◽

Isaac Rischall

Keyword(s):

Charitable Giving ◽

Married Couples

Download Full-text

Charitable Giving by Married Couples Revisited

The Journal of Human Resources ◽

10.1353/jhr.2010.0008 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 45 (2) ◽

pp. 497-516 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Barış K. Yörük

Keyword(s):

Charitable Giving ◽

Married Couples

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How Married Couples Make Charitable Giving Decisions

Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly ◽

10.1177/0899764018757027 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 47 (3) ◽

pp. 657-669 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Christopher J. Einolf ◽

Hillary Darville Curran ◽

Katie C. Brown

Keyword(s):

Charitable Giving ◽

Married Couples ◽

Research Note ◽

The Other ◽

Initial Decision ◽

Cooperative Bargaining ◽

Competitive Bargaining

This research note reports the results of interviews with 29 married couples about how they make charitable giving decisions. Most couples in the sample made decisions about donating small amounts separately and large amounts jointly. Most couples engaged in cooperative, not competitive, bargaining, as they tended to support the same charities and rarely disagreed about giving decisions. When couples did disagree, it was usually about the amount given, not the target, for large donations, and the target, not the amount given, for small ones. Sometimes one partner would act as the “gas pedal” and tend to want to donate money, while their spouse would act as the “brakes” and argue in favor of making a smaller donation or no donation. Cooperative bargaining also marked the process of increasing a donation, as one spouse would make a small initial decision and would later consult with the other about increasing the amount.

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