What Do Nongovernmental Organizations Do

Bibliographic Data

ID4861578
AuthorsEric Werker (0000-0002-9234-6118, Harvard Business School, Boston, Massachusetts.), Faisal Z Ahmed (0000-0001-5081-4940, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.)
Year2008
Volume22
Issue2
Pages73-92
Publication date2008-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Journal of Economic Perspectives (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0895-3309 • E-ISSN: 1944-7965
PublisherAmerican Economic Association (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1257/jep.22.2.73
OpenAlexW179063987
LanguageEN
Citations received68
References cited15

Nongovernmental organizations are one group of players who are active in the efforts of international development and increasing the welfare of poor people in poor countries. Nongovernmental organizations are largely staffed by altruistic employees and volunteers working towards ideological, rather than financial, ends. Their founders are often intense, creative individuals who sometimes come up with a new product to deliver or a better way to deliver existing goods and services. They are funded by donors, many of them poor or anonymous. Yet these attributes should not be unfamiliar to economists. Development NGOs, like domestic nonprofits, can be understood in the framework of not-for-profit contracting. It is easy to conjure up a glowing vision of how the efforts of NGOs could focus on problem solving without getting bogged down in corruption or bureaucracy. But the strengths of the NGO model have some corresponding weaknesses-in agenda setting, decision making, and resource allocation. We highlight three factors in explaining the increased presence of NGOs in the last few decades: a trend towards more outsourcing of government services; new ventures by would-be not-for-profit "entrepreneurs"; and the increasing professionalization of existing NGOs

Business · Political science · Labor Movements and Unions · Nonprofit Sector and Volunteering · Public Administration · Religion, Society, and Development

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