A warm glow in all parts? : building local cause-affinity as a strategy for promoting charitable giving

This paper explores the under-researched phenomenon of local giving initiatives. It does this against a national context where we find levels of giving slow to change over time, variation in levels of giving between places, and the development of a policy agenda which has given insufficient attention to the role places may play. We develop the concept of local cause affinity to understand local giving practices. Through this we reflect on the need to base our understanding of giving on institutional, social and cultural factors alongside economic factors which are considered more in policy-making. It is in this realm that we debate local giving in light of Adam Smith's two apparently contradictory works (The Theory of Moral Sentiments and The Wealth of Nations). As such we ask whether giving is a rational act or an act of love.