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Charity has become big business. One recent study estimates that the British give about as much to charity as they spend on beer. The modern, professional approach to fundraising dates back to an American called Charles Sumner Ward, who worked for the YMCA in the early 1900s. Tim Harford explains how economists now study what are the most effective techniques to elicit donations – should charities put more energy into doing the most good they can with the money they raise, or employing attractive young women to knock on doors?

Producer: Ben Crighton
Editor: Richard Vadon