Greed and generosity.pdf

The Economics of the Gift, in: Gift giving and the "embedded" economy in the ancient world, edited by Filippo Carlà and Maja Gori, Universitätsverlag Winter Heidelberg, 2014, pp. 83-99. , 2014

This essay broadly considers gifts, giving, and gift economies, modern and pre-modern, from a mainstream (and behavioral) economics perspective. I present a selective survey of the literature focusing on six key points: 1. Commercial transactions sustained by reputation are not easily distinguishable from gift exchange economies; 2. Gift-giving allows the giver to accumulate goods that cannot be purchased commercially; 3. When the giver retains some use, experience, or control over the gift, she shares in the consumption of it; 4. Considering behavioural issues such as regret aversion, gift-giving may offer overlooked efficiencies that may balance out the deadweight losses from ‘inadequate gifts’; 5. Aggregate (anonymous) giving can be an important signal of overall group identity and character; 6. Historical modes of ‘giving under pressure’ offer insights for modern public policy and philanthropy.

A Catholic Spirituality for Business: The Logic of Gift, 2019

Zea Books, 2020

Ind. LJ, 1988

2006

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 philan-thropy. This paper reviews over 25 years worth of economic research, and points to the many challenging new questions that remain

1998