Willingness to Financially Support the Healthcare System: Evidence from Two Experimental Studies during COVID-19 in Italy

A key challenge for public institutions is to ensure adequate funding for health, especially in times of crisis, and motivating citizens’ prosocial financial behavior is critical to ensuring the efficiency of healthcare. This article investigates citizens’ willingness to support healthcare with data from two cross-sectional Italian studies conducted during the peak of the pandemic. This article presents the results of two cross-sectional studies, conducted during the pandemic peaks in Italy, investigating citizens’ willingness to support the healthcare. Findings show different reactions towards voluntary contributions and mandatory subsidies. Furthermore, trust in money management and altruistic drivers predicted citizens’ willingness, which declined over time. Results offer guidance as to when and how be more effective in designing communications aimed at raising funds for healthcare.