| The Governance of Not-For-Profit Organizations Contributor(s): Glaeser, Edward L. (Editor) |
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ISBN: 0226297888 ISBN-13: 9780226297880 Publisher: University of Chicago Press OUR PRICE: $34.65 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: May 2006 Annotation: Not-for-profit organizations play a critical role in the American economy. In health care, education, culture, and religion, we trust not-for-profit firms to serve the interests of their donors, customers, employees, and society at large. We know that such firms don't try to maximize profits, but what do they maximize? This book attempts to answer that question, assembling leading experts on the economics of the not-for-profit sector to examine the problems of the health care industry, art museums, universities, and even the medieval church. Contributors look at a number of different aspects of not-for-profit operations, from the problems of fundraising, endowments, and governance to specific issues like hospital advertising. The picture that emerges is complex and surprising. In some cases, not-for-profit firms appear to work extremely well: competition for workers, customers, and donors leads not-for-profit organizations to function as efficiently as any for-profit firm. In other contexts, large endowments and weak governance allow elite workers to maximize their own interests, rather than those of their donors, customers, or society at large. Taken together, these papers greatly advance our knowledge of the dynamics and operations of not-for-profit organizations, revealing the underexplored systems of pressures and challenges that shape their governance. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Business & Economics | Nonprofit Organizations & Charities - General |
| Dewey: 658.048 |
| Series: National Bureau of Economic Research Conference Report (Paperback) |
| Physical Information: 0.72" H x 6.08" W x 9" (0.85 lbs) 255 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Not-for-profit organizations play a critical role in the American economy, but little attention is paid to the pressures and challenges that affect their governance. We know such firms don't try to maximize profits, but what do they maximize? The Governance of Not-for-Profit Organizations tackles that question head-on, assembling experts on the not-for-profit sector to examine the diverse and wide-ranging concerns of universities, art museums, health care providers--and even the medieval church. Contributors look at a number of different aspects of not-for-profit operations, from the problems of fundraising, endowments, and governance to specific issues like hospital advertising. The picture that emerges is complex and surprising--one in which some institutions function as efficiently as for-profit firms while others appear to be maximizing the interests of their elite workers, rather than those of their donors, customers, or society at large. |
Contributor Bio(s): Glaeser, Edward L.: - Edward L. Glaeser is the Fred and Eleanor Glimp Professor of Economics at Harvard University, where he also directs the Taubman Center for State and Local Government at the John F. Kennedy School of Government and the Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston. He is a research associate and director of the Urban Economics Working Group at the NBER. |