The Economics of Giving for Overseas Development
The Economics of Giving for Overseas Development
Giving by individuals for development has been illustrated recently by some spectacular examples. A few people giving very large sums, and a very large number of people giving modest amounts, are both important phenomena in the field of development finance. This paper considers how in theory such behaviour might be explained using the tools of economic analysis. The paper is about the economics of giving, but focused on why people give to a particular cause – world development. There has been an extensive literature on the total volume of giving, but much less on the allocation by cause. Giving for development does not seem to be adequately explained by either the “warm-glow” or the “public good” models. The paper suggests a new “identification” approach to individual giving, which combines the results focus of the public goods formulation with the scale of the warm glow model. The analysis initially treats giving for development in isolation, but goes on to examine how development causes fit into the pattern of overall charitable giving by individuals and the pattern of giving over the individual lifetime.
Southampton Statistical Sciences Research Institute, University of Southampton
Atkinson, A. B.
ffb23bee-53f8-40f5-b4b3-9b2f555142f6
28 February 2008
Atkinson, A. B.
ffb23bee-53f8-40f5-b4b3-9b2f555142f6
Atkinson, A. B.
(2008)
The Economics of Giving for Overseas Development
(S3RI Applications & Policy Working Papers, A08/03)
Southampton, UK.
Southampton Statistical Sciences Research Institute, University of Southampton
17pp.
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Monograph
(Working Paper)
Abstract
Giving by individuals for development has been illustrated recently by some spectacular examples. A few people giving very large sums, and a very large number of people giving modest amounts, are both important phenomena in the field of development finance. This paper considers how in theory such behaviour might be explained using the tools of economic analysis. The paper is about the economics of giving, but focused on why people give to a particular cause – world development. There has been an extensive literature on the total volume of giving, but much less on the allocation by cause. Giving for development does not seem to be adequately explained by either the “warm-glow” or the “public good” models. The paper suggests a new “identification” approach to individual giving, which combines the results focus of the public goods formulation with the scale of the warm glow model. The analysis initially treats giving for development in isolation, but goes on to examine how development causes fit into the pattern of overall charitable giving by individuals and the pattern of giving over the individual lifetime.
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Published date: 28 February 2008
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Local EPrints ID: 50549
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/50549
PURE UUID: 799d2313-7f60-477a-b177-07a3109722f2
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Date deposited: 28 Feb 2008
Last modified: 20 Feb 2024 03:21
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Author:
A. B. Atkinson
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