Book Chapter
Private Donations for International Development

The chapter starts by considering the extent to which development benefits from philanthropic effort, showing that a great deal of philanthropy in rich industrialised countries is aimed at domestic concerns, and may vary with household income; the super‐rich are treated here as a special case. The next question asked is why development may command only a small share of charitable donations and how people determine the objects of their giving; here the economic literature on philanthropy provides only limited help and the discussion draws on the literature on donor behaviour from other disciplines, notably marketing. The special case of private donations to the UN agencies is then considered, looking at the particular problems faced by the UN, and focusing on the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), which is by far the most successful UN agency at collecting money from private individuals; the question is asked as to whether private donations are crowded‐out by governmental contributions or by Official Development Assistance (ODA). The last main section of the chapter discusses future prospects and ways forward, including measures designed to promote charitable donations, in general, but focusing on their particular relevance for development. It covers the issue of tax incentives to donors, the new ‘global funds’ (intended partly to attract money from the super‐rich), new forms of corporate social responsibility and giving in relation to ‘cause‐related marketing’, the use of the Internet, and long‐term donor education.