Charitable Giving with Search Frictions

How important are search frictions in the market for charitable donations? I study a dynamic search and matching model to produce new insights for our understanding of the charitable sector. First, the model highlights the role that charity characteristics play in equilibrium donations. Second, charity competition takes the form of a congestion externality. This externality can be influenced by policy instruments like the tax treatment of donations. Finally, empirical support for the model in the form of a charitable giving Beveridge curve is presented.