Given the chance, women are more likely than men to opt out
of a request to give a charitable donation, a group of economists have found.
The issue of which gender is more generous has been debated
for years. A new field experiment conducted by scholars at the University of
Chicago and University of California, Berkeley shows that when it’s easy to
avoid making a donation, such as not responding to a door-to-door solicitor,
women are less likely than men to give.