john hull <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >It allows the participants to demonstrate their >commitment to the cause when soliciting money. ... >If D.L. is willing to run until he pukes, then the >cause must be important to him and I'm more willing to >give a few minutes to hear his plea and possibly give >money. So why not mow lawns for donations, you ask? >... when people are compensated for something they >tend to enjoy it less. ... If you mowed lawns for >breast cancer, you'd be putting lawn care professionals >out of work and creating even more charity cases.
Putting professionals out of work?! This is a confused about economics explanation. I admit people are often confused, but we should also consider more rational explanations. They could spend the same effort they spent training for the race and running it doing their usual kind of job, and then impress you with the dollar amount of money they donated to the charity. "If I donated $10,000, couldn't you donate a few dollars?" Robin Hanson [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://hanson.gmu.edu Asst. Prof. Economics, George Mason University MSN 1D3, Carow Hall, Fairfax VA 22030-4444 703-993-2326 FAX: 703-993-2323
