How could social assistance empower recipients? The impact of different forms of social assistance on recipients’ philanthropic behaviors
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 17832179 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Yongjiao Yang (0000-0001-6638-4439, Chongqing University, corresponding author), Tong Qing Wang (Chongqing University), Yichu Xu (Chongqing University) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-06 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2662-9992 • E-ISSN: 2662-9992 |
| Publisher | Palgrave Macmillan (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1057/s41599-025-06437-9 |
| OpenAlex | W7118335608 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 50 |
While global welfare debates prioritize recipient empowerment, existing studies have stated controversial opinions regarding whether and how could social assistance shape recipients’ prosocial behaviors—a critical gap given rising inequality. From the theoretical perspective of institutional logics, this study examines how different forms of social assistance impact recipients’ philanthropic behaviors, and examines China’s unique state-society dynamics to reveal how authoritarian governance impacts institutional logics. Using nationally representative data, the results of analyses show that state assistance strengthens the constraints of economic conditions on individual giving, and charitable assistance has no effect overall, while mixed assistance weakens the positive effect of self-efficacy and perceived reciprocity. The findings redefine empowerment debates by highlighting institutional hierarchy’s role considering unbalanced state-society relation. These insights advance comparative welfare literature and offer actionable pathways for coordinating state-NGO efforts of social assistance in authoritarian contexts in order to promote the full development of recipients
Authoritarianism · Corporate governance · Empowerment · Prosocial behavior · Social Assistance · Social Welfare · Welfare · Welfare state · China's Socioeconomic Reforms and Governance · Nonprofit Sector and Volunteering · Social Policy and Reform Studies
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Organizational Implications of Institutional Pluralism
A Literature Review of Empirical Studies of Philanthropy
Charitable Giving
The Social Multiplier
Can Warm Behavior Mitigate the Negative Effect of Unfavorable Governmental Decisions on Citizens’ Trust
The emergence of social assistance in China
Governing Civil Society
The Impact of Public Assistance Use on Charitable Giving
Why do People Give
On the origins of welfare stigma
Commitment to Welfare
The Effects of Public Policy on Private Charity
Giving and Getting
Empathy‐induced altruism in a prisoner's dilemma II
Coercion versus Choice
Toward a Theory of Social Support
Agreeableness, empathy, and helping
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Impure Altruism and Donations to Public Goods
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Who Deserves Help? Evolutionary Psychology, Social Emotions, and Public Opinion about Welfare
A New Strategy for Reducing Selection Bias in Nonexperimental Evaluations, and the Case of How Public Assistance Receipt Affects Charitable Giving
Nonprofit Spending and Government Provision of Public Services
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Self-efficacy and work-related performance
Welfare and Citizenship
Serial Reciprocity
Structuring a Theory of Moral Sentiments
Institutional Logics and the Historical Contingency of Power in Organizations
The Dynamics of Social Assistance in the Informal Economy
Receiving Social Assistance in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |