| 讲座简介： | Abstract: We conducted three lost letter experiments in Beijing, a megacity with more than 20 million residents, to test if altruistic attributes of the letter recipient would induce more altruistic acts of the passerby. The treatment letters were addressed to a nationally renowned charitable organization in China, while the control letters were intended to an invented individual. A total of 832 ready-to-be-posted letters were dropped in 208 communities across eight districts in the city. The overall return rate was only about 13%. Yet, the return rate of the treatment letters (17%) was nearly twice as high as that of the control letters (9%). The results suggest that in contrast to the invented individual, the altruistic attributes of the charitable organization strengthened the altruistic preferences of the passerby and accordingly induced more of their altruistic acts. The finding is consistent with the prediction of the interdependent other-regarding preferences models. We also found that the letters were more likely to be returned if they were dropped in communities with a relatively higher income or a postal box located closer. |
