Local Nonprofit Welfare Provision: The United States and Russia

Authors

Maria V. Wathen, Loyola University ChicagoFollow
Scott W. Allard, University of Washington - Seattle CampusFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2014

Publication Title

Public Administration Issues

Issue

5

Pages

7-28

Publisher Name

National Research University Higher School of Economics

Publisher Location

Moscow, Russia

Abstract

Provision of antipoverty and other social services by nonstate organizations is growing in importance in both the United States and the Russian Federation. The history of such provision in the United States may offer insights for the emerging system of nonstate provision in Russia. To illuminate these points, we provide historical overviews of both contexts and then we examine data from two surveys of social service organizations in the United States: the Multi-City Survey of Social Service Providers and the Rural Survey of Social Service Providers.

We find that nonstate actors strengthen social capital in poor neighborhoods and often link poor persons to public agencies. Nonstate actors strengthen other local institutions through programmatic partnerships and collaboration. However, financing arrangements of nonstate welfare provision may favor efficiency over concerns about equity, sustainability, and predictability. In addition, the primacy of nonstate provision leads to a welfare state that is more varied geographically than might be anticipated otherwise. Such variability appears to disadvantage high-poverty and predominately minority communities the most. Finally, politically, nonstate welfare provision may occur with little public discussion, debate, or reflection as it evolves over time. These findings invoke important questions for Russian policy-makers as they seek to develop an equitable and efficient means of providing assistance to their population.

Comments

Author Posting © HSE, 2014. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of the National Research University Higher School of Economics for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Public Administration Issues, Issue 5, Pages 7-28, 2014. http://doi.org/10.17323/1999-5431-2014-0-5-7-28

Recommended Citation

Wathen, M. V., & Allard, S. W. (2014). Local nonprofit welfare provision: The United States and Russia. Public Administration Issues, 5(Special Issue), 7–28. https://vgmu.hse.ru/en/2014--5/152186643.html, DOI: 10.17323/1999-5431-2014-0-5-7-28.

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Copyright Statement

© HSE, 2014.