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Do Donors Care? Some Australian Evidence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2026

Gabrielle Berman and
Sinclair Davidson
Gabrielle Berman
Affiliation:
School of Economics and Finance, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia
Sinclair Davidson*
Affiliation:
School of Economics and Finance, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia
*
2Correspondence should be directed to Sinclair Davidson, School of Economics and Finance, RMIT University, 239 Bourke Street, Melbourne 3000, Australia; e-mail: sinclair.davidson@rmit.edu.au.
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Abstract

It is commonly believed that individuals would donate more to charity if they were assured that the funds would not be “wasted.” This is a common answer to survey type investigations into charitable giving. In this paper we adopt a law and finance approach to investigate the validity of this contention in the Australian context. We develop an Accountability Rights variable and relate that variable to charitable donations. The relationship between the two is statistically weak and not robust.

Résumé

Résumé

Il est communément admis que les particuliers donneraient davantage aux organisations caritatives s’ils étaient assurés du non «gaspillage» des fonds. Ceci est une réponse fréquente des recherches de type enquête menées dans le domaine du don caritatif. Dans cet article nous adoptons une approche juridique et financière pour étudier la validité de cette assertion dans le contexte australien. Nous développons une variable des Droits Comptables et la relions aux dons caritatifs. La relation entre les deux apparaît statistiquement faible et peu robuste.

Zusammenfassung

Zusammenfassung

Es wird allgemein angenommen, dass Personen mehr für karitative Zwecke spenden würden, wenn sie sicher wären, dass ihre Spenden nicht „verschwendet” werden. Dies ist die gewöhnliche Antwort auf Umfragen zum Spendenverhalten in der Bevölkerung. In diesem Artikel nutzen wir einen Ansatz aus dem Rechtsund Finanzwesen, um die Gültigkeit dieser Behauptung zu untersuchen. Wir entwickeln eine Variable namens, Verantwortlichkeitsrechte’ und korrelieren sie mit karitativen Spenden. Das Ergebnis ist eine statistisch schwache und nicht robuste Beziehung zwischen den zwei Variablen.

Resumen

Resumen

Se cree vulgarmente que los individuos donarían más a la caridad si tuvieran la garantía de que los fondos no serían “desperdiciados”. Esta es la respuesta común de las investigaciones de tipo encuesta sobre donantes caritatvos. En este artículo adoptamos una aproximacion financiera y legal para investigar la validéz de esta connexión en el contexto australiano. Desarrollamos una variable de derechos de responsibilidad y relacionamos esa variable con las donaciones caritativas. La relación entre las dos es estadisticamente debil y poco fuerte.

Keywords

charitiesfund-raisinglegislationAustralia

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations , Volume 14 , Issue 4 , December 2003, pp. 421 - 429
Copyright
Copyright © 2003 International Society for Third-Sector Research and The Johns Hopkins University

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