A Comparative Study of Charity in Four Chinese Societies--Based on the Available Data on Charitable Behaviors

ABSTRACT

The current study, illustrates how the dynamics of charitable behaviors in four predominantly Chinese societies: China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Five noted data bases on the charitable characteristics of ethnic Chinese were identified and employed for this study. Based on the findings of past studies, we hypothesized that social and demographic measures tend to be related to the likelihood of charitable donations, while psychological and attitudinal factors tend to contribute to the likelihood of volunteering. Generally speaking, our results support our theoretical framework and confirm our hypotheses. After comparing the four ethnic-Chinese regions under study, we found that the Taiwanese display the strongest propensity for helping strangers; people in Hong Kong are most likely to donate money; Singaporeans spend the most time as volunteers; and people living in China are the least charitable in every respect.