Behavioral Game Theory

A government commissioned review is currently looking into the way UK charities raise money. Reports this week suggest it will be tough. And it should be! The review follows the high profile case of 92 year old Olive Cooke who took her own life having become exhausted by requests for money from charities. Such requests for money are all too familiar to many. In our household I would say that we average a charity letter per day, a phone call per week, and a fundraiser at the door every month. The Prime Minister was stating the obvious when he said that the behaviour of some charities was 'frankly unacceptable'.           Against this public backlash the charity sector has stood firm. Time and again I have heard spokespeople arguing that charities only do good . The argument essentially seems to be that the funds they raise are spent on worthy causes and so the ends justify the means. The charity sector, therefore, can claim the moral high ground. This argument, however, is f