Are women more generous than men? Evidence from the US Consumer Expenditure Survey

Abstract

This paper examines how gender, age, education, income, race, and ethnicity affect giving behaviors using the 2006 US Consumer Expenditure Survey. The testable hypotheses are based on theories of human capital and social capital. The research suggests that gender differences in philanthropic behavior are non-existent. Education, annual income, wealth, and being Hispanic increase the probability of giving, but they had no effect on the amount gifted. It is estimated that age and race interact with gender to affect differences in giving – older women are more likely than younger men to donate but give smaller shares of their income, while white women, black women, and Asian women are less likely to donate and give smaller amounts than men of ‘other’ races.