Work

Intergenerational Altruism and Sustainable Development: The Role of Descendants and Age Effects in Promoting Future Well‐Being

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: ABSTRACT Sustainability challenges can be framed as problems of intergenerational altruism—how the current generation allocates resources to future generations. Institutional reforms such as Demeny voting assume that descendants act as intermediaries who enhance altruism toward the future. We test this “altruism premium” and evaluate two interventions, priming and proxy decision‐making, in an incentivized online donation experiment with 2735 Japanese participants (childless, Parents, and Grandparents groups). The child‐mediated altruism premium was confirmed, but the positive effect for grandparents was absorbed by a general age effect. Priming did not significantly increase donations, while proxy decision‐making significantly reduced them, especially among women. Notably, obligation toward intermediaries correlated negatively with future‐oriented altruism among male parents. These findings confirm that children strengthen future‐oriented altruism, but suggest that institutional strategies relying on intermediaries face challenges arising from psychological mechanisms and marked gender differences.

Source: Sustainable Development

DOI: 10.1002/sd.71631

Authors: Yoshio Kamijo, Akira Goto, Toshiyuki Himichi

Institutions: Waseda University, Meiji University, Kochi University of Technology

Language: English

Topic: Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies

Subfield: Safety Research

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $4,250

Funder: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science