The last will: Estate divisions as a testament of to whom altruism is directed.
Journal
PloS one
ISSN: 1932-6203
Titre abrégé: PLoS One
Pays: United States
ID NLM: 101285081
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
2021
2021
Historique:
received:
30
09
2020
accepted:
28
06
2021
entrez:
28
7
2021
pubmed:
29
7
2021
medline:
5
11
2021
Statut:
epublish
Résumé
We use data on estate divisions to study to whom altruistic preferences are directed. Insofar bequests are given without the prospect of future personal benefits in mind, they are presumably intrinsically motivated. Hence, estate divisions provide a rare opportunity to study intrinsically motivated prosocial behavior in the field. The empirical analysis is based on data from digitized estate reports for all individuals in Sweden who passed away in 2002 and 2003. The data show in detail how the decedents distributed their bequests. We find that family members, both genetic (offspring) and non-genetic (partner), receive the lion's share of the estates. Other relatives, friends and strangers (represented by charities) receive only very small shares of the total estate wealth. The results suggest that intrinsically motivated altruism is primarily directed towards close family members.
Identifiants
pubmed: 34320017
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0254492
pii: PONE-D-20-30831
pmc: PMC8318293
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
e0254492Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts
The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
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