Charitable Giving and Tax Policy: A Historical and Comparative Perspective

Over the past couple of decades, differentials in the level of private contributions to charitable organizations have become a central matter of public policy. Because private charitable contributions finance many socially valuable activities (for example, education and the arts), many governments have tried to boost private philanthropy through various active policy interventions. Furthermore, the temptation to rely on private contributions to finance the provision of public goods has increased substantially in recent years as fiscal constraints have become tighter. Yet there is little robust quantitative evidence regarding the differentials in private charitable giving across countries, and more importantly very little consensus on why these differentials may exist. This volume provides an original, comparative, and historical analysis of charitable giving and of tax policies towards private philanthropy across different countries. It sheds new light on the determinants of private philanthropy and offers interesting practical insights for improving tax policies towards charitable giving. Contributors to this volume - Anthony B. Atkinson, London School of Economics and Nuffield College Oxford Charles T. Clotfelter, Duke University Gabrielle Fack, Universite Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne and Paris School of Economics Camille Landais, London School of Economics Kimberley Scharf, University of Warwick Sarah Smith, University of Bristol