Why certificates?

Abstract

Certificates help resource allocation with evaluations and causal responsibility. They create a “market for impact” that provides price signals for altruistic decision-making, incentives for doing good effectively, lower-overhead philanthropy, and assistance to those who can use it well. Markets are the most successful resource allocation mechanism that has been seriously tested. Certificates are most like a product market, where one buys a result or a car rather than a share of a car manufacturer. The impact purchase sets up a thin market, but can address some problems. – AI-generated abstract.