Philanthropy is one of the enduring areas of economic research. Why would people work hard only to give their earnings away? The paper explores the theoretical foundations, as well as the empirical and policy research on philanthropy. This paper reviews over 25 years worth of economic research,...

Charitable bequests are an important source of philanthropic support. Unlike bequests to children which can be taxed at a maximum statutory rate of 0.55, such transfers are exempt from estate taxation. Thus, by lowering the price of charitable giving, the estate tax may influence the disposition...

This note reviews trends in charitable bequests over the past two decades. It provides a time series on bequests and wealth reported by estates, a snapshot of the dispersion in the degree of generosity, as well as a brief introduction to data sampling issues. It also presents a critical review...