TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Deutsch, Joseph
AU  - Epstein, Gil S.
AU  - Nir, Alon
        TI  - Mind the Gap: Crowd-Funding and the Role of Seed Money
        PY  - 2015/Mar/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 8955
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/publications/dp8955
        AB  - We analyze voluntary private contributions to public goods and the role seed money plays in signaling the public good's quality to potential subsequent contributors. We present a theoretical model and analyze two sets of naturally occurring data from crowd-funding platforms. After developing the theoretical background we find statistically significant switch points which distinguish between seed contributions to subsequent contributions. A positive change in contribution behavior after the switch suggests an increase in the perceived value of the public good. We find that the signal comprises the number of contributors and the average contribution (as proportion of targeted goal).
        KW  - public goods
KW  - voluntary private provision
KW  - crowd-funding platform
KW  - seed money
        ER  -