ABSTRACT
Ethnic J)illersi~y. Populatioll Size, and C'ltaritable Giving 55
people engaged in a transaction is a major determinate of the institutional mode of transaction ... the family is the locale of transactions in which identity dominates ... .'12 Freeman contrasts the F-Connection hypothesis with labour supply explanations:
I find that standard labor supply substitution behavior, which predicts that people will volunteer less when the opportunity cost of time (wages) is high -- explains only a minor part of differences in volunteer acti"ity among individuals with similar demographic characteristics. 1:\
He concludes that, 'volunteering behaviour depends more on factors embodied in Ben-Porath's "F-Connection" than on substitution vis-a-vis labor supply considerations', and he cites supporting evidence from a Gallup survey on the influence of family and friends on decisions to volunteer. II Finally, Freeman advances the construct of reciprocal altruism as a possible basis for understanding the importance of families and friends in charitable giving.
