Three essays on the impact of tax incentives and determinants of charitable giving

One of the main factors that affects individual charitable giving behaviors is the availability of tax incentives. Thus, this study uses data from the Consumer Expenditure Survey (CEX) for the first quarter of 2004 through the fifth quarter of 2017 to examine the effects of tax incentives on contributions made to religious, educational, other, and political non-profit organizations and how these organizations are impacted by tax subsidies. While every type of contribution (except political contributions) is affected by the tax price of giving, other charitable donations are the most responsive to changes in the tax price of giving. The results also reveal that “income before taxes,” “race,” “gender,” “level of education,” “children in the household,” and “presence of persons over the age of 64” are important predictors of every type of giving. These findings can help academics and planners by increasing fundraising efforts and improving financial planning services.