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Governmental transfers and altruistic private transfers

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  • Amihai Glazer
  • Hiroki Kondo

Abstract

If an altruist is expected to aid a person with low utility, that person may be induced to save little. Such behavior generates a good Samaritan dilemma, in which welfare is lower than when no one is altruistic. Governmental transfers, which restrict reallocation from a person who saves much to one who saves little, reduce the effect and can lead to an outcome which is Pareto-superior to the outcome under a Nash equilibrium with no government taxation and transfers. Copyright Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Amihai Glazer & Hiroki Kondo, 2015. "Governmental transfers and altruistic private transfers," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 28(2), pages 509-533, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jopoec:v:28:y:2015:i:2:p:509-533
    DOI: 10.1007/s00148-014-0503-2
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Social security; Moral hazard; Savings; Altruism;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation
    • D64 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Altruism; Philanthropy; Intergenerational Transfers
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making

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