Van De Ven, J. (2002). The demand for social approval and status as a motivation to give Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics, 158(3):464--482.
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Affiliated author
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Publication year2002
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JournalJournal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics
The aim of this paper is to explain gift giving as due to a demand for social approval and status. In a simple framework we are able to account for a number of stylized facts. These are that gift giving is often reciprocal, that gifts tend to be inadequate, and that gift giving is sometimes reduced after a monetary compensation is offered. The implication for the interaction between gift giving and the market institution is that implementing price incentives in a nonmarket environment can be welfare-decreasing. (JEL: A 10, A 12, D 10, D 60).