Giving and volunteering are positional goods - that is, people value them in comparison with others

What is it about?

Examining whether giving and volunteering are positional goods - i.e. goods whose value depends relatively strongly on position in relation to others. We conducted an experiment and found that that giving and volunteering are positional, but the positionality of volunteering is dependent on whether volunteering is visible or anonymous.

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Why is it important?

introduces a new concept into the study of giving and volunteering the findings have implications for solicitation of voluntary contributions of time and money, and particularly on if and how to publish the organization's donors and volunteers