New field experiment investigates how religious authority and sacred texts influence charitable giving among Afghan day laborers.

Experimental Setup & Results

Researchers presented two scenarios to participants:

• In Civilian Condition: A cleric requested hospital funds, with 50% contributing overall and only 17% making substantial donations.
• In Cleric Condition (with no scripture): Contribution rate jumped to 83%, but average giving remained minimal as most gave the smallest amount possible.

Impact of Qur'anic Recitation

The most significant finding emerges when a recitation was included alongside the cleric condition: contribution rates reached 82% and large donations doubled, with average contributions doubling overall.

Key Drivers

Researchers identified two primary factors influencing outcomes:

• Formal education significantly impacted how much individuals gave,
• Subjective perception of poverty influenced compliance levels.

These findings challenge conventional wisdom about religious authority in Afghanistan. The results suggest that the power to activate spiritual channels for charitable giving actually resides in the scripture itself, rather than solely with human religious figures.