---
title: "The Government Question"
number: 21
statement: "When does philanthropy add to public spending, when does it replace it, and when does it shape public policy without public accountability?"
progress: "Evidence on whether private giving crowds public budgets in or out, and shared norms for when private money should shape public policy."
conditions: ["missing-voice"]
status: open
bounty: "Unfunded. The Question Bounties program will attach prizes once it is funded."
---

## Why it matters

Private giving and public spending interact. A gift can unlock government money, replace it or steer it. Each has different consequences for the people served and for democracy.

## Where to start

Economists have studied crowding-in and crowding-out for decades, with mixed results. The open problem is turning that literature into guidance a giver can use.