The Significance of Motivational Variables in International Public Welfare Expenditures

A significant amount of research in welfare analysis focus on utility interdependence. One major shortcoming of such research is the assumption that the preferences of individuals are of a particular nature. No explanation is provided for the formation of preferences, and no effort is made to measure them or to offer empirical support for their existence. The purpose here is to overcome this deficiency. Two empirically derived psychological motivation variables for giving and receiving are analyzed that, when considered in combination, define an individual's personality type in terms of that person's altruistic or nonaltruistic orientation. The empirical results suggest quite strongly that public welfare effort is negatively related to the need for achievement and positively related to the motivational need to give. Thus, nonmarket preference revelation, in terms of the motivation of individuals within a society to give to others, seems to be significantly related to actual public welfare effort.