An empirical analysis of altruistic consumer behaviour and economic welfare of households in pakistan

Abstract

The recent literature supports the fact that choices of individual are not always rational. They are bounded rational not just because of lack of complete information but due to involvement of individual personal attributes in decision making. This study is aimed at evaluating the effect of altruistic behaviour on the welfare of some selected households. Cluster-based sampling has been used with a sample size of 1000 household covering 36 major districts of Punjab. The analysis revealed that the traditional utility maximization model positively impacted charitable donations on household welfare. This study found a high tendency of altruistic consumer behaviour among households. Altruism on the model of an individual to individual connection can improve community welfare in the long run. In this regard, the benefits of giving charity should be widely demonstrated through a formal government system, which will help improve the social welfare of society. By Publicizing the services of charity for donor, the contribution will increase across all income groups. The government needs to develop specific policies that can use charity for community development. By mobilizing individuals' donations, the burden on the part of the government can be shared in terms of projects based on the social safety net.