September 18, 2026 | 03:00 PM
Management Development Institute Gurgaon is delighted to invite the eminent speaker Dr. Nishtha Sharma, Charles University.
Topic: Meritocracy in Street Charity
Date: 18th September 2026
Time: 03.00 PM onward
Session’s Abstract: Beliefs that the poor are lazy predict lower redistribution and charity donations, but not direct giving. We test whether fairness concerns fade in direct giving or operate person by person in the context of giving to beggars. In Delhi, we had 1,219 beggars choose between free cash and paid work, and 1,204 residents predict these choices. Rather than intervening on beliefs, we compare beliefs and giving toward beggars who naturally differ in a chosen signal of willingness to work: 31 percent of beggars in our sample offer low-value items while begging. People expect significantly fewer beggars with items to choose free cash, and give them significantly more, in field interactions and in an incentivized allocation task. Yet the beliefs are far from the truth. People expect nearly half of beggars to choose free cash; barely one in seven does. And beggars with and without items choose nearly identically, so the signal people reward carries almost no information. Our findings suggest that fairness preferences and beliefs about merit influence direct giving but operate at the individual level, masking the relation in aggregate data, and rest on beliefs far from the truth.
The session will be astutely moderated by Prof. Puneet Arora, Assistant Professor, Economics, Public Policy And Legal Management, MDI Gurgaon.