Shi, Y. (with Fabrizi, S., Lippert, S.), 2025. Voluntary contributions to a public good: when and how much? Journal of Public Economic Theory 27(3), e70042.
We analyze voluntary public good contributions with incomplete information. A fundraiser chooses simultaneous or sequential contributions, and two players choose the size and (eventually) order of their contributions. Simultaneous contributions minimize free-riding incentives of players with low valuations, whereas sequential contributions minimize those of players with high valuations. Hence, to maximize aggregate contributions, a fundraiser allows for sequential contributions when high valuations for the public good are prevalent or significantly higher than low valuations and, otherwise, only allows for simultaneous contributions. With low bliss points, sequential contributions maximize aggregate payoffs. For higher bliss points, the distribution of and difference in valuations becomes important.