Long Term Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Social Concerns

While some local, temporary past crises have boosted overall charitable donations, there have been concerns about potential substitution effects that the Covid-19 pandemic might have on other social objectives, such as tackling climate change and reducing inequality. We present results from a donation experiment (n = 1, 762), with data collected between April 2020 and January 2021. We combine data from (i) an online donation experiment, (ii) an extended questionnaire including perceptions, actions, and motives on the Covid-19 pandemic, the climate crisis, and poverty, as well as charitable behavior and (iii) epidemiological data. The experimental results show that donations to diverse social concerns are partially substituted by donations to the Covid-19 fund; yet, this substitution does not fully replace all other social concerns. Over time we observe no systematic trend in charitable donations. In regards to the determinants of individual donations, we observe that women donate more, people taking actions against Covid-19 and against poverty donate more, while those fearing risks from poverty donate less. In addition, we observe that the population under consideration is sensitive to the needs of others, enhancing total donations for higher Covid-19 incidence. For donations to each charity, we find that trusting a given charitable organization is the strongest explanatory factor of donations. JEL: L3, D64, Q54, I3, D9


A. Experimental instructions
The instructions were in German. Below (in italics) we present English translations. We present here the instructions used in the Baseline and Covid-19 treatments; for Covid-19 Only the wording was adapted such that it corresponds to a donation decision with a single charitable organization (rather than a set of charities). Fig. S1 presents a screenshot from the decision-making screen in LimeSurvey for the Covid-19 treatment.
In this part of the experiment you will be paired with a set of charities. You will be making decisions for a total of 3 Euros; you must decide how many Euros (if any) you allocate to one or several of the charities below and how many Euros (if any) you take for yourself. For every euro you allocate to a charity, we will transfer in addition 25 cents to the charity.
At the end of today's experimental session, the principal investigator of this project, Dr. XXX, will pool the money all participants have allocated to each one of the charities and will make an online payment for the sum of money plus 25 cents for every Euro.
You will have available a list of all individual contributions to each charity (without participant names) as well as the total sum of money paid to each one of the charities on the personal webpage of Dr. XXX. Figure S1: Decision-making screen in LimeSurvey for Covid-19 treatment Mission Statements: WWF's mission is to conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on Earth (https://worldwildlife.org).
Doctors Without Borders provides assistance to populations in distress, to victims of natural or manmade disasters and to victims of armed con ict (https://doctorswithoutborders.org).
Amnesty International is committed to the enforcement of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other rights which are part of international human rights agreements (https://amnesty.at).
In the center of SOS Children's Villages is the e ort to provide children who have lost their parents or can no longer live with them, with a lasting and permanent home and a stable environment (https://soskinderdorf.at). Independent from their social, national or religious a liation, Caritas supports and accompanies people in di cult life situations, who su er from illness or disability as a consequence of accidents or disasters (https://caritas.at).
The philosophy of the organization Licht ins Dunkel is the material and emotional support of disabled children and their families, physically and mentally disabled people in Austria , as well as the promotion of the objectives of its members as set in the organization charta. (https://lichtinsdunkel.orf.at).
Oxfam is an independent relief and development organization. We are convinced that poverty and injustice are preventable and can be overcome (https://oxfam.de).
The Red Cross mission is to improve the lives of people in need and vulnerable groups through the power of humanity (https://roteskreuz.at). WHO Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund: We are all a ected by the growing COVID-19 pandemic. It's an unprecedented health challenge and we know people and organizations everywhere want to help. The World Health Organization is leading and coordinating the global e ort, supporting countries to prevent, detect, and respond to the pandemic. (https://covid19responsefund.org).

B. Survey questions
The survey consisted of three main blocks, addressing participants' (a) perception of risks, (b) actions, and (c) motivations related to (i) the Covid-19 pandemic, (ii) the climate crisis, and (iii) poverty. The survey questions used in each of these inventories are provided below. Additionally, participants were asked to answer some general questions on socio-economic details, subjects' perception of how relevant a charity's work is regarding alleviating the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, their perceived trustworthiness, as well as subjects' history of donation and charity work. The survey items were displayed to the participants via LimeSurvey using matrix questions (or open text eld questions, where applicable). We report below the complete ex-post questionnaire. All questions except Q9, Q10, Q18 and Q19 were part of the analyses reported in this study.

Questions on the Covid-19 pandemic
• Risk perception: (Q1) To what extent do you agree with the following statements about the Covid-19 disease? (Answers ranging from 1: "I fully disagree" ... to ... 5: "I fully agree"): (i) Covid-19 will limit our lives for months; (ii) The disease is worse than a conventional u; (iii) The risk of becoming infected with the virus for me or my family and friends is high; (iv) I feel anxious when acquaintances are (were) infected with Covid-19; (v) I am not concerned with my generation, but with older people in society; (vi) A vaccine against the virus will be developed during the summer 6 ; (vii) There will be (have been) food shortages during the crisis; (viii) Due to the restrictions, there will be (has been) a severe economic recession; (ix) I am afraid of losing my job because of the situation.
• Actions: (Q2) For each of the following actions, please indicate the respective frequency at which you undertake them. (Answers ranging from 1: "Never" ... to ... 5: "Always"): (i) I wash my hands at least 20 seconds after having left the house; (ii) When I am not at home, I keep a minimum distance of 1.5 meters from other people; (iii) I help the group most at risk to do their shopping so that they do not have to leave the house; (iv) I am wearing a mask in public; (v) I make sure that hygienic measures are also implemented in my house; (vi) I try to avoid public transport; (vii) I try to go shopping rarely, and only when the shops are less crowded.
(Q3) How do you rate the following statements in relation to the measures taken in spring 2020 to contain the spread of Covid-19 (e.g., regional lock-downs)? (Answers ranging from 1: "Not true at all" ... to ... 5: "Completely true") (i) The measures are (were) annoying me; (ii) The measures taken are (were) important and appropriate; (iii) The measures taken are (have been) followed by the majority of the population. To what extent do you agree with the following statements? (Answers ranging from 1: "I fully disagree" ... to ... 5: "I fully agree"): (i) The risk of severe weather events will increase if society does not act against climate change; (ii) Our climate has already changed sustainably; (iii) I am afraid of climate change; (iv) Climate change will limit our lives; (v) Long periods of drought can lead to water shortages also for us; (vi) Due to climate change, there will be food shortages; (vii) Due to climate change, there will be a severe economic recession; (viii) I am afraid of losing my job due to climate change.
• (Q9) For each of the following measures, please indicate whether you or your family have taken them. (Answer possibilities 1: "Yes", 2: "Unsure", 3: "No"): (i) Buying insurance due to the risk of ooding, storm and heat damage; (ii) Measures to reduce thermal stress e.g. Fan, air conditioning; (iii) Protection against ooding e.g. remove valuable items from the basement, sandbags, water pumps; (iv) Protection against increased UV radiation, e.g. by applying sun blockers, wearing long clothes or stay in areas protected from the sun.
(Q10) Have you or your family invested money in any of the above measures in the past 12 months? (Answers possibilities 1: "No, none of these measures have been taken", 2: "No, the measures that were taken were free", 3: "• Yes, in total approximately this amount:... ").

Questions on poverty
• Risk perception: (Q12) To what extent do you agree with the following statements? (Answers ranging from 1: "I fully disagree" ... to ... 5: "I fully agree"): (i) Severe poverty will lead to further refugee crises; (ii) Crime is a risk factor that arises from poverty; (iii) Global poverty has worsened in the past 12 months; (iv) I am afraid that the consequences of poverty will a ect me; (v) Tourism is negatively impacted by the uncertainty that results from crime in low-income countries.
• Actions: (Q13) For each of the following statements, please indicate the respective frequency at which you have undertaken them in the past 12 months. (Answers ranging from 1: "Never" ... to ... 5: "Always"): (i) I gave money to poor people; (ii) I bought food for poor people; (iii) I bought fair produced products; (iv) I took vacations that are morally acceptable . (iv) Many low-income countries will become even poorer without interventions; (v) I believe that participating in the ght against poverty makes a good citizen; (vi) My parents gave me values that encourage me to act against poverty; (vii) It is important for my religion; (viii) I am afraid that poverty will increase crime that can a ect me; (ix) Poverty and refugee waves could weaken our economy sustainably; (x) I fear that otherwise there will be more refugee crises; (xi) I do not want to make my future vacation plans dependent on poverty problems in other countries.

Additional Questions
• Socio-economic questions: (Q16) (i) What is your gender?; (ii) How old are you?; (iii) What is your nationality?; (iv) What is your marital status?; (v) What is your eld of study?; (vi) In which countries or regions have you been living since February 2020?; (vi) In which countries or regions have your family and close friends been living since February 2020?.