In many societies, a large fraction of the population is involved in philanthropic activities like charitable giving or volunteering, as recipients or providers. Accompanying this are significant levels of public support for such activities. Yet in spite of this, the evidence base is inadequate. For example, there is no conclusive evidence about what motivates charitable giving and engagement in philanthropic activities. Various explanations have been proposed, ranging from pure altruism and ‘warm glow’ to social pressure and signalling, but a deeper understanding of what drives people’s motives is essential to evaluate the welfare effects of philanthropic activities and, therefore, to design appropriate policies.

Likewise, for profit corporations engage more and more in philanthropy, but we know little of the drivers behind this activity. Is it a genuine concern towards stakeholders and the long-term reputation of the company? Is it an attempt to gain the favour of customers, regulators or employees and, thus, potentially consistent with profit maximization? Or is it a corporate governance issue, with executives buying photo opportunities with shareholders’ money?

Finally, the trend towards increased inequality in many developed countries has heightened tensions between the philanthropic pursuits of large and small donors. This has not only prompted a debate about whether tax relief provisions for charitable donations unduly favour higher-income donors – progressive taxation means that large donors take a more than proportional share of the public money spent on funding tax incentives for charitable contributions – but also a debate about the costs and benefits of diversity in the charitable sector and whether such diversity should be limited by imposing more restrictive criteria on charities and donations in determining their eligibility for preferential treatment under the law.

Researchers investigating the economics of philanthropy as the topics suggested in the above general framework are invited to submit their papers for presentation at the conference.
address
San Servolo
Venice
Good for:
Causes
You
Cost of event tickets:
Free
Website:
https://www.cesifo-group.de/ifoHome/events/Archive/conferences/2016/07/2016-07-1…