We develop a simple model of generous behavior. It is based on the premise that some people are generous, but everyone wants to appear generous--especially in the eyes of other generous people. Although non-monetary donations are always inefficient, they frequently occur in equilibrium because...

Does voluntary contracting suffice for the efficient provision of excludable public goods? Even in a complete information environment, we find that the answer is negative. The reason is that some agents may profit from not participating at the provision stage, but instead negotiate access ex post.

We develop a simple model of generous behavior. It is based on the premise that some people are generous, but everyone wants to appear generous—especially in the eyes of other generous people. Although non-monetary donations are always inefficient, they frequently occur in equilibrium because...