Voluntary Donations and Public Expenditures in a Federal System
Proponents of the new federalism argue that nonprofit organizations and local governments will fully offset federal social service expenditure cutbacks. The author analyzes this proposition as a competitive game in which donations are motivated by private and public good considerations. The author characterizes the response of political-economic equilibrium to exogenous changes in federal expenditures when local voters are cognizant of donor reactions. Partial replacement is the most likely outcome, though others are possible.