How can Bill and Melinda Gates increase other people's donations to fund public goods?

Dean Karlan, John List, 2 April 2012

With governments strapped for cash, charities are stepping up to provide public goods. But how can charities mobilise support from small donors to fund their work? CEPR DP8922 investigates whether altruists would donate more if they knew more about a charity’s quality. In the authors’ experiment, Bill and Melinda Gates matched donations to a particular charity. Small donors saw this as a signal of the charity’s quality – and donations soared.

Vox readers can download CEPR Discussion Paper 8922 for free here. 

Journalists are entitled to free DP downloads on request; please contact pressoffice@cepr.org. To learn more about subscribing to CEPR's Discussion Paper Series, please visit the CEPR website.

 

Journalists are entitled to free DP downloads on request; please contact pressoffice@cepr.org. To learn more about subscribing to CEPR's Discussion Paper Series, please visit the CEPR website.

URL: http://www.cepr.org/DP8922
Topics: Development, Poverty and income inequality
Tags: asymmetric information, charitable giving, charity, Public goods

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