Michael Krashinsky

Stakeholder theories of the non-profit sector: One cut at the economic literature

This article examines and organises the economic literature dealing with non-profit institutions using the concept of ‘stakeholders’. In general, the literature identifies conflicts between various groups of stakeholders and then proceeds in two very different directions. The first is supportive of the non-profit sector, suggesting that non-profit organisations resolve those conflicts more effectively than other types of institutions. This provides a positive theory of the non-profit sector, explaining that non-profit institutions evolve when they are more effective in providing a particular good or service than other possible institutional arrangements. The second direction is more critical of the non-profit sector, suggesting that those conflicts will persist in non-profit institutions and will require some kind of resolution, including perhaps government intervention. Of course, a stakeholder approach to non-profit theory focuses on conflict and ignores some other views of the sector.

The Effects of Incumbency in U. S. Congressional Elections, 1950-1988

Using a random coefficients model and regression analysis, the authors examine the effects of incumbency in U.S. House and Senate elections since 1950. The model is based on assumptions about the behavior of voters. A strong effect for incumbency is demonstrated, amounting to at least 10 percentage points in the popular vote in elections since 1974. Part of the effect occurs because incumbents by definition do not run against incumbents. A significant time trend emerges, and there is a significant difference in the effect between presidential and nonpresidential years. The effect is robust, being relatively insensitive to changes in the specification of the underlying model. The model is also used to examine changes over time in the attachment of voters to political parties.

Do English Canadian Hockey Teams Discriminate Against French Canadian Players

The paper considers whether or not English-Canadian teams discriminated against French-Canadian players during the 1989/1990 season, and finds that there is no evidence of discrimination.

Housing prices in Metropolitan Toronto: An empirical analysis

Abstract This paper examines short-run fluctuations in real house prices in Metropolitan Toronto. We hypothesize that the average time that a house has been on the market before it is sold provides information on the expectation of future movements in real house prices. The paper combines the use of cross spectral analysis (in the frequency domain) with regression analysis (in the time domain) to examine the relationship between monthly real house prices and the average waiting times. In particular, we use a Hannan estimator to form a distributed lag function from the spectral analysis and use these results as an input to the regression model. The empirical findings support our use of waiting times as a proxy of future real house price movements.

Stakeholder Theories of the Nonprofit Sector

This article examines and organizes the economic literature dealing with nonprofit institutions using the concept of “stakeholders.” In general, the literature identifies conflicts between various groups of stakeholders and then proceeds in two very different directions. The first is supportive of the nonprofit sector, suggesting that nonprofit organizations resolve those conflicts more effectively than other types of institutions. This provides a positive theory of the nonprofit sector, explaining that nonprofit institutions evolve when they are more effective in providing a particular good or service than other possible institutional arrangements. The second direction is more critical of the nonprofit sector, suggesting that those conflicts will persist in nonprofit institutions and will require some kind of resolution, including perhaps government intervention. Of course, a stakeholder approach to nonprofit theory focuses on conflict and ignores some other views of the sector.

Subsidies To Child Care: Public Policy and Optimality

This article examines the efficiency of subsidies for extra-family child care. It is shown that if the government is attempting to maximize the household Abstract utility function revealed by the individual family, deductibility of child care expenses will constitute the maximum efficient subsidy. Concern for equity among families will also justify deductibility. Concern for the specific well- being of children can justify higher subsidies, but these should not be directed only through day care centers, and should be available to children whether or not their parents work and use day care. Finally, the effert of subsidies on fertility is shown theoretically to be ambiguous.

Option Demand Revisited

Weisbrod argues that private commodities for which demand is infrequent and uncertain and for which disinvestment is irrevocable may involve a market failure that he calls option demand. He has identified an important phenomenon, but his analysis is somewhat flawed. If entrepreneurs can price discriminate perfectly, as Weisbrod assumes, there can be no value in options to purchase. Nonetheless, the goods he describes do involve market failures: inability to price discriminate and the free rider problems associated with public goods. Thus option demand remains a useful concept.