This paper examines allocation of local public goods over jurisdictions (villages) with individuals with identical tastes and different incomes, in a model with democratic institutions and majority rule. The median voter (in income) in each jurisdiction determines the probability of re-election...

A profit-maximizing auctioneer can provide a public good to a group of agents. Each group member has a private value for the good being provided to the group. We investigate an auction mechanism where the auctioneer provides the good to the group, only if the sum of their bids exceeds a reserve...

In this paper we provide a simple general equilibrium model with public investment and distorting taxes. First, we obtain the optimality conditions for public investment provision under different tax systems. Also we discuss whether tax revenue is increased by the complementary between...

We examine the development of altruistic and free-riding behavior in 6-12-year-old children. We find that the level of altruistic behavior in children is similar to that of adults but that repetition has a different effect. Younger children's contributions tend to increase in later rounds of the...

We conduct experiments in urban slums to measure trust and cooperation and to see how behavior varies with demographic factors and associational measures of social capital. Overall, we find high contribution rates among Thai and Vietnamese participants in a voluntary contribution game, and we...

When the value of a product or service is uncertain, outcomes can be inefficient. A market for evaluations can theoretically increase efficiency by voluntarily eliciting an evaluation that would otherwise not be provided. This paper uses a controlled laboratory experiment to test the performance...

This study combines hydrological modeling with applied micro-econometric techniques to value a complex ecosystem service: drought mitigation provided by tropical forested watersheds to agrarian communities. Spatial variation in current baseflow allows estimation of drought mitigation values as...

This paper describes production analogs to the conditions used in consumer theory to recover measures of willingness to pay for non-marketed environmental resources. The analysis suggests that both weak complementarity and Hicksian neutrality have production analogs. Moreover, it indicates that...

Richer countries are safer, healthier places to live. They pollute less and enjoy a higher standard of living. Evaluating the indirect, non-market effects of education requires detailed, microeconomic analyses of education's causal role in people's behavior. Thep purpose of this paper is to...

The megathrust earthquake centered near Sumatra on December 26, 2004, generated a tsunami that resulted in an estimated 150,000 deaths in Indonesia alone. In response, commitments have been made to extend the existing tsunami early warning systems in the Pacific to the remainder of the world...