diff --git a/flask/ctx.py b/flask/ctx.py
index 1e01df78..3401bd79 100644
--- a/flask/ctx.py
+++ b/flask/ctx.py
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ class _AppCtxGlobals(object):
             return self.__dict__.pop(name, default)
 
     def setdefault(self, name, default=None):
-        self.__dict__.setdefault(name, default)
+        return self.__dict__.setdefault(name, default)
 
     def __contains__(self, item):
         return item in self.__dict__