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Charity and public libraries: Does government funding crowd out donations?

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  • Amir Borges Ferreira Neto

    (West Virginia University)

Abstract

This paper analyzes the determinants of donations to public libraries testing the following hypothesis: Is there a crowd out effect from government funding of public libraries? I look at novel data, the Public Library Survey, and use an unbalanced panel of public libraries across the USA from 2000 to 2013. The results suggest a crowd in effect with an inverted U shape in all levels of government. Local government is associated with 4–6 cents increase in donations, state government with 20–23 cents increase, and federal government with 75 cents to 1 dollar and 33 cents.

Suggested Citation

  • Amir Borges Ferreira Neto, 2018. "Charity and public libraries: Does government funding crowd out donations?," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 42(4), pages 525-542, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jculte:v:42:y:2018:i:4:d:10.1007_s10824-018-9318-4
    DOI: 10.1007/s10824-018-9318-4
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    Cited by:

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    2. McCannon, Bryan C. & Ferreira Neto, Amir B., 2021. "Charitable giving for cultural goods: Asymmetric gender responses to votes on tax increases," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 204(C).
    3. Andrade Agudelo, Doris Lilia & Fernández-Cantero, Angy Lorena & Velásquez-Galeano, Dayana Andrea, 2023. "Efficient Provision of Public Goods: Supply and Demand of Public Libraries in Colombia," Revista Finanzas y Politica Economica, Universidad Católica de Colombia, vol. 15(2), pages 307-330, July.
    4. Brian Garrod & David Dowell, 2020. "The Role of Childhood Participation in Cultural Activities in the Promotion of Pro-Social Behaviours in Later Life," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-16, July.
    5. Gayle, Philip, 2024. "The extent to which government grants to nonprofit organizations crowd-out or crowd-in private giving to them: An unresolved debate revisited within a strategic fundraising setting," MPRA Paper 120685, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Charity; Crowd out; Donation; Government spending; Public libraries;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H41 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Public Goods
    • Z11 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economics of the Arts and Literature

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