Doing good better? The differential subsidization of charitable contributions

This article introduces the practice and theory of subsidizing at different rates the private financial contributions made to different categories of charitable or publicly beneficial civic activities. It describes and compares the practices by which eight governments apply differential subsidies, and then summarizes guidelines for their design that can be inferred from optimal tax and expenditure theory. It does this in the hope that differential subsidies will receive greater attention in the public policy literatures that deal with financing the third-sector.