PROSOCIAL Virtual Seminar June 2026 

To register for the PROSOCIAL Virtual seminar on June 9th, 2026, at 2:30 PM (CEST) please fill out the form below. You will receive an email that contains the link for joining the seminar.

Title of the presentation: Prosocial behavior in communities: What we learn from digital public goods

Speaker: Jana Gallus

Abstract: A large share of the causal economics literature on prosocial behavior uses lab games or field experiments where a firm-like organization incentivizes an individual to donate (money, time, blood products). These designs have yielded much insight by making aspects of the choice environment exogenous, but they say less about prosocial behavior and incentives embedded in durable social relations, where peer groups, identity, and institutions form endogenously.

This talk makes the case for community-embedded research in modern digital settings where prosocial behavior unfolds at scale. A large-scale field experiment with the community of Wikipedians shows how symbolic peer recognition substantially shifts newcomer retention and contribution to a digital public good. New work on open-source software communities exploits a communication technology shock to identify how scarce contributor attention shapes collaboration in public-good production.

The talk seeks to spur discussion about what we can learn from community-embedded research on digital public-goods production, where prosocial behavior meets motivations for innovation and creativity.

Privacy Policy: Your registration data will be used exclusively for registration and organization of the seminar. It will only be passed on to third parties if this is necessary for the event to take place or if required by law. For more information about how we handle your data, please refer to our privacy policy: Datenschutzerklaerung_PROSOCIAL_Virtual_Seminar.pdf

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