Beggars as Rational Choosers

American municipalities increasingly regulate panhandling. That regulation is controversial. The determinants of panhandling activeness are unknown, and it is doubted whether panhandling activity responds rationally to incentives. To shed light on these issues, we collect data on hundreds of panhandlers and the passersby they solicit at Metrorail stations in Washington, DC. Consistent with a simple model of profit‐maximizing panhandling, we find that panhandlers solicit more actively when they compete, when they have more human capital, and when passersby are more numerous and responsive to solicitation. Beggars are choosers, and they appear to be rational ones.