This thesis explores some theoretical and empirical issues in the voluntary contributions to public good. Chapter I contains a brief motivation and introduction. In chapters II and III, we analyze two non-cooperative methods for either enhancing or mitigating externality-causing activities. Chapter II deals with positive externality in the public good contribution context, and chapter III with negative externality in the pollution abatement context. Chapter IV contains an empirical analysis of charitable donations by the elderly. Chapter II models the so-called ``corporate challenge gift'' used in real world fund-raising, and adopts the concept to voluntary contributions to public goods more generally. We model the process as a sequential game in public good contributions. One of the agents sets a quantity-contingent matching scheme to leverage higher contributions from the other players. Under the assumption that the preferences of agents are public information and the assumption that the scheme setter can commit to the matching plan, we show that the scheme brings efficient levels of total contributions to the public good. Chapter III applies some ideas from a joint work with Professor Robin Boadway and Professor Jean-Fran\c{c}ois Tremblay on ``Commitment and Matching Contributions to Public Goods'' to the issue of reducing negative externality-causing activity. In particular, it adapts both the Guttman-Danziger-Schnytzer type of rate-matching mechanism and the quantity-contingent matching method for public good contributions to the international pollution abatement problem. In a simple two-country model, we find that both matching schemes induce the countries to internalize the negative externality imposed on the other country. However, perhaps due to the lack of enough policy instruments, they cannot equate the marginal costs of abatement across the countries, leaving room for Pareto improvement. This further improvement can be achieved if the two countries also contribute to a conventional public~good. Chapter IV is an empirical exercise on some positive externality-generating activities by the elderly. It attempts to document the charitable giving of money and time by people aged 60 or above in the 2003 PSID data for the United States and analyze the influences of some economic and demographic factors on these activities. Income, wealth, the subjective rating of health status, and years in school are found to have statistically significant impacts. Income and wealth appear to have distinct influences. The tax price of money donation also has a statistically significant effect on money donations. / Thesis (Ph.D, Economics) -- Queen's University, 2007-11-19 01:48:10.777

There are many contexts where an "everybody else is doing it" attitude is relevant. We evaluate the impact of this attitude in a multi-threshold public goods game. We use a lab experiment to study the role of providing information about contribution behavior to targeted subsets of individuals, and its effect on coordination. Treatments include one in which no information is provided and three others that vary in whom we provide information to: a random sample of subjects; those whose contributions are below the average of their group, and those whose contributions are above the average of their group. We find that the random provision of information is no different than not providing information at all. More importantly, average contributions improve with targeted treatments. Coordination waste is also lower with targeted treatments. The insights from this research are relevant more broadly to contexts including piracy, open innovation, and crowdfunding.

This work focuses on the question of water as a public good and presents three significant approaches of environmental good treatment (considering water). Those are the environmental policy of a state, market approach and decentralized resource regimes. After that it focuses on the water policy in the Czech Republic and on the temporary Water Framework Directive implementation process. It compares the intended impacts with real effects of the implementation of directive. The comparison is made in three institutional areas -- competent authority, public participation and price policy in management of water. On behalf of the confrontation of institutional changes of these areas, it makes conclusions about real impacts of the Water Framework Directive implementation in the Czech Republic.

Multiple group memberships are the rule rather than the exception. Locally operating groups frequently offer the advantage of providing social recognition and higher marginal benefits to the individual, whereas globally operating groups may be more beneficial from a social perspective. Within a voluntary contribution environment we experimentally investigate the tension that arises when subjects belong to a smaller local and a larger global group. When the global public good is more efficient individuals first attempt to cooperate in the global public good. However, this tendency quickly unravels and cooperation in the local public good builds up. (author´s abstract) / Series: Department of Economics Working Paper Series

This study examined the role and function of public relations in public higher education institutions by focusing on the messages being communicated by four public research-oriented universities. This study was designed to determine if and how these universities communicate their public good responsibility and how that communication is perceived by two constituent groups—higher education reporters and state legislators. The researcher used two qualitative methods: thematic analysis and in-depth/elite interviews. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the universities’ mission and vision statements, strategic plans, legislative appropriations requests, presidential speeches, and 800 press releases (200 from each of four universities), to determine whether references to the public good were either present or absent in messages the universities disseminated during 2006 and 2007. In-depth/elite interviews were used to obtain the perspectives of the chief public relations officers at each of the four public research-oriented universities about their public relations strategies and communication goals. Higher education reporters covering these respective institutions and members of the legislature in positions of leadership on committees involved with higher education policy and funding issues were also interviewed to understand their perceptions about the universities. This study found the following 24 references to public good: the core concepts of research, teaching and public service; the benefits the universities create as engines of economic development; diversity; the recruitment and retention of faculty; the university as a center for arts, entertainment and cultural events; faculty and student achievement; student career enhancement; and institutional prestige, among others. The study demonstrated that public research-oriented universities are using public relations strategies and techniques to construct and distribute messages to their key constituents about the benefits they provide to the State and its citizens. Major findings also include the observation that higher education reporters cover higher education as a statewide beat which focuses on the state’s two flagship or Tier 1 universities—the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University and the institutions in the reporters respective cities. In addition, the higher education reporters write about “issues” related to higher education rather than institutions per se. The study also found that State Legislators only recognize the two Tier 1 institutions as research institutions and their perspectives about these institutions are driven by how these universities are funded. / text

Den här uppsatsen redogör för en kvalitativ textanalys av svensk hemundervisningsdebatt mellan åren 2000 och 2015. Det empiriska materialet bestående av 17 insändare, debattartiklar och ledare från en variation av svensk dagsmedia har analyserats med hjälp av systematisk-logisk analys samt kritisk ideologianalys. Syftet med undersökningen är att analysera debatten. Resultatet visar att argument som förekommer i debatten kan sorteras in under fyra teman: Barnet och familjen, Hemmets plats i samhället, Skolans plats i samhället samt Samhällets grund. Resultatet visar också att argument för hemundervisning liksom argument mot hemundervisning förekommer i alla teman. De framkomna argumenten har via de fyra konstruerade temana analyserats i relation till två teoretiska begrepp, public good och private good. Diskussionen av undersökningsresultatet visar att argument inom de två förstnämnda temana tenderar att vara ”mer” private good medan argument inom de två sistnämnda temana tenderar att vara ”mer” public good.

This study is a case study of an institutional transformational change effort in an urban research university. The study's focus is on the impact of The Milwaukee Idea on faculty and students as the soul of the university. Literature on transformational change in higher education focuses on the processes for launching this type of change and the role of formal change leaders. Less is known about the impact of transformational change on faculty and students. Relevant literature on change and institutional culture informed this study, including Kotter (1996), Wilber (1998), Cutright (2001), Peterson and Spencer (2000), Kezar and Eckel(2000), and Astin (2001). National projects sponsored by ACE and the Kellogg Foundation are also reviewed. Sense-making emerges as a critical construct in understanding the culture and values of students and faculty.Findings reveal that the change agenda brought cultural values around civic engagement, interdisciplinary work, and collaboration to the forefront of the institutional agenda. Faculty has engaged in new and enhanced work as a result of The Milwaukee Idea initiatives, while traditional university structures, including the faculty reward system, have been maintained. Students were recipients of the change agenda, but not active in its development. Community members have new expectations for their involvement in the university and the university's ability to contribute to the public good. There is an understanding in the community and at the university that their two fates are linked.The aggregate of faculty and student participants do not report a deep, pervasive impact on their culture and experiences. The Milwaukee Idea brought change to the university in new programs and centers, but it was not transformational. What The Milwaukee Idea did do is bring forward values within the culture and establish the university as a more visible presence and force in the local community.

Les inégalités de revenu affectent-elles la fourniture des biens publics ? Warr a établi en1983 un théorème de neutralité : sous certaines conditions, une redistribution marginale des revenus entre agents n'affecte pas la quantité de bien public fournie par leurs contributions volontaires. Les généralisations de ce résultat par Bergstrom et al. (1986), ont permis de mieux comprendre ce phénomène : les redistributions neutres sont de " faible "amplitude de sorte que les agents dont le revenu a été amputé ont toujours la possibilité de maintenir leur dépense en biens privés, et les ajustements des contributions individuelles laissent inchangée la contribution agrégée au bien public. Itaya et al. (1997) se sont intéressés aux conséquences d'une redistribution non neutre sur le bien-être. Dans les deux premiers chapitres de cette thèse nous testons ces prédictions en laboratoire grâce à un jeu de bien public avec utilités quadratiques. Le premier chapitre considère une redistribution de " faible " amplitude qui ne devrait pas entrainer une modification de la quantité de bien public. En revanche dans le chapitre 2, la redistribution est d'une amplitude telle qu'elle affecte la quantité de bien public fournie et le bien-être de la société. Bien que nous retrouvions en laboratoire certaines prédictions théoriques, notamment au niveau de la modification ou non de la quantité de bien public produit et du bien-être, les prédictions concernant les comportements et les gains individuels sont rarement vérifiées. En particulier, nous observons que, suite à la modification de leur revenu, certains joueurs réduisent ou augmentent moins leur contribution que la théorie ne le prédit et que les agents pauvres sur-contribuent. Il semble enfin que l'émergence d'inégalités n'affecte pas de la même façon les comportements que lorsque ces inégalités préexistent et donc que le sens de la redistribution, selon qu'elle crée ou diminue les inégalités, importe. Dans le chapitre 3, nous étudions plus précisément une redistribution créatrice d'inégalités dans un jeu de bien public linéaire et nous regardons si les hommes et les femmes réagissent de la même façon à ce changement et quelles conséquences cela entraine sur la quantité de bien public fournie. Nous montrons que lorsque les femmes bénéficient de la redistribution,la quantité de bien public produit diminue. Il apparait aussi que les comportements sont modifiés lorsque les sujets connaissent le genre de ceux qui se sont enrichis. / Do income inequalities affect the provision of public goods? Warr established in 1983 a theorem of neutrality : under some conditions, a marginal redistribution of endowments among agents does not affect the amount of public good provided by their voluntary contributions. Generalizations of this result by Bergstrom et al. (1986), helped to better understand this phenomenon: neutral redistributions are those of "low" amplitude, so that agents whose income decreases can maintain their consumption of private goods, and adjustments of individual contributions leave unchanged the aggregate contribution to the public good. Itaya et al. (1997) have focused on the consequences of a non-neutral redistribution on welfare. In the first two chapters of this thesis we test these predictions in the laboratory using a public good game with quadratic utility functions. The first chapter considers a redistribution of a "low" amplitude that should not modify the amount of public good supplied. However in Chapter 2, we run a redistribution of a "high" magnitude so that it affects the amount of public good provided and the social welfare. Although some theoretical predictions are found in the laboratory, such as the modification or not of the amount of public good and of the welfare, predictions on individual behaviors and payoffs are rarely verified. In particular, we note that following a modification of their endowment, some subjects decrease or increase their contribution less than theory predicts and that poor agents over-contribute. It further appears that the emergence of inequalities does not affect behaviors in the same way than when these inequalities preexist and thus that the direction of the redistribution, depending on whether it creates or decreases inequalities, matters. In Chapter 3 we study more precisely a redistribution that creates inequalities in a linear public good game and we test wether men and women respond similarly to the modification of their endowment and what are the consequences on the supply of the public good. We show that when women become rich, the quantity of public good provided decreases. It also appears that behaviors are modified when the rich gender is common knowledge.

Esta tese tem por objeto a análise da concessão florestal, instrumento de outorga do uso de florestas públicas em caráter privativo ao particular. Por tratar-se de uma relação jurídica, a análise é detida nos seus elementos componentes, que são basicamente o objeto, partes e regramento jurídico específico, comparando-a com outras espécies de concessão, como a concessão de serviço público e a concessão de uso de bem público. Iniciando-se pelo estudo da tutela jurídica da floresta, uma vez que a concessão florestal também é instrumento de sua proteção, perpassa-se pelo delineamento da concessão e modelos de gestão de florestas públicas em outros países, para se alcançar o ponto principal que é a análise das regras da Lei nº 11.284, de 02 de março de 2006, marco regulatório da gestão de florestas públicas brasileiras. A conclusão procura realçar, dentre outros aspectos, a existência de uma efetiva política pública de gestão das florestas sob o domínio do poder público, erigida sobre o princípio constitucional do desenvolvimento sustentável do meio ambiente. / This thesis focuses on the analysis of the forest concession an instrument which grants the use of public forests for private use. From a legal perspective, the analysis is held in its component parts, which are basically the object, parties and specific legal rules, comparing it to other types of concessions, such as public service concession and authorization of use of public good. The study begins with the legal protection of the forest, given the forest concession is equally a tool of its own protection, and one goes by the concession outline and the management models of public forests in other countries, in order to achieve the main point, which is the analysis of the rules of Law No. 11,284, from 02 March 2006, reglementary limit of public forests management in Brazil. The conclusion seeks to highlight, among other aspects, the existence of an effective public policy for forest management under the control of government, built on the constitutional principle of sustainable development of the environment.

Este trabalho busca analisar políticas de redução das taxas de homicídios em municípios da Região Metropolitana de São Paulo, baseadas especificamente na restrição do horário de funcionamento de bares. O objetivo geral é analisar comparativamente a implementação da chamada Lei Seca nesta região, considerando a necessidade de coordenação da ação de diversos atores para a sua efetivação. A hipótese principal é que os resultados alcançados pela Lei Seca dependem da articulação entre diversos atores (estatais e civis) ligados à segurança pública, de um desenho institucional bem delimitado para garantir a coordenação desses agentes e da fiscalização das ações. Os processos de implementação da lei foram analisados comparativamente, bem como o consórcio de instituições e atores civis responsáveis pela elaboração, execução e fiscalização da lei. O trabalho baseou-se em pesquisa bibliográfica e documental, levantamento de estatísticas criminais e entrevistas qualitativas com agentes envolvidos na formulação e implementação dessa política pública. Esta análise se insere nos debates sobre a articulação entre instituições responsáveis pela segurança pública, participação da sociedade civil, municipalização da segurança pública, relação entre o consumo de álcool e homicídios e outros, mas a contribuição pretendida refere-se especialmente ao debate sobre a produção de bens coletivos. Pode-se concluir que os resultados da interação entre os atores envolvidos e a cooperação para a efetivação da política analisada dependem de investimentos dos atores públicos para o estabelecimento de condições iniciais de implementação baseadas no diálogo e convencimento dos demais atores, aproximando-se assim daquilo que a literatura passou a denominar governança colaborativa. / This thesis aims to analyze policies to reduce homicide rates in cities within the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo, based on restricting bars business hours. The overall objective is to analyze the implementation of the Dry Law in the area, taking into consideration the need to coordinate the action of many players in order to make it effective. The main assumption is that Dry Law results depend on the joint effort from various players in public safety (state and civil), a well-defined institutional structure to ensure coordination of these agents and actions surveillance. The law implementation process was analyzed, as well as the consortium of institutions and civil players responsible for the preparation, enforcement and supervision of the law. The work was based on literature and documents review, crime statistics and qualitative interviews with stakeholders involved in the formulation and implementation of this public policy. This analysis is part of the debates about the articulation among institutions responsible for public safety, civil society participation, municipalization of public safety, the relation between alcohol consumption and homicide and others. Nevertheless, the contribution is intended to refer specifically to the debate on the production of collective goods. In conclusion, results from the interaction among players and cooperation to put this policy into effect depend on public players investment in order to establish initial conditions for implementation, based on dialogue and persuasion of other players, approaching what literature has defined as \"collaborative governance\"