A number of new studies indicate that even in our present tough economic times charitable giving remains a strong component of the American way of life: Last year Americans gave more than $290 billion to their favorite causes despite the struggling economic climate.

I explore what this means in the video below:

Al Gini is a professor of business ethics and chair of the department of management at Loyola University Chicago. He is also the co-founder and associate editor of Business Ethics Quarterly,and the author of several books, including My Job, My Self and Seeking the Truth of Things: Confessions of a (catholic) Philosopher.