Too Many Nonprofits? An Empirical Approach to Estimating Trends in Nonprofit Demand
Harrison, T. & Thornton, J. (2014). Too Many Nonprofits? An Empirical Approach to Estimating Trends in Nonprofit Demand Density. Nonprofit Policy Forum. 5(2), 213-229.
17 Pages Posted: 26 Nov 2011 Last revised: 13 Sep 2017
Date Written: October 13, 2012
Abstract
This paper attempts to describe the competitive behavior of charitable non-profit firms when prices and output are difficult to observe. The paper exploits cross-sectional variation in market size to estimate the number of non-profits that can be supported within a market. We find that our sample markets generally reach competitive levels once three or more firms are observed. The paper offers several possible interpretations of these findings and future directions for our research.
Keywords: entry thresholds, nonprofit, competition
JEL Classification: L31, L11, D43
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation