What am I reading in ScholarWorks? June 2025

Economics is a discipline that I find endlessly fascinating. The aspect that really draws me in is the psychology of it all where action (spending money) works as a sort of truth-teller even despite contrary professed feelings, intentions, or inclinations. This is why for this month’s What Am I Reading in ScholarWorks, I’m excited to draw your attention to this fascinating article by Economics Professor K. Pun Winichakul, “The Gift of Giving: Recognizing Donors and Revealing Donation Amounts,” in which the “personal and social dynamics” of gift-giving is examined. The question researched is what effect does revealing the amount of the donation (in addition to the donor) by the charity have on charitable giving and tribute gifts? As usual, what we think we prefer through social conventions is not necessarily aligned with how we act. As Professor Winichakul puts it, these are “miscalibrated beliefs” —a phrase that I find so perfect I will leave the rest of the article and its findings for you to discover as I fall into a linguistic and philosophical reverie. Enjoy!

View in ScholarWorks: “The Gift of Giving: Recognizing Donors and Revealing Donations Amount”

Smith ScholarWorks is Smith’s institutional repository of digital scholarship and research materials created and curated by faculty, students, and staff at Smith College. Browse by collections, disciplines, and authors.