IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bpj/nonpfo/v5y2014i2p28n3.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Charitable (Anti)Trust: The Role of Antitrust Regulation in the Nonprofit Sector

Author

Listed:
  • Searing Elizabeth A. M.

    (Department of Public Management and Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, 14 Marietta St NW, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA)

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to address the ambiguities in the application of anti-trust regulations to the nonprofit sector. We first survey policy tools and their diverse historical usage in nonprofit and mixed markets, specifically in professional associations, hospitals, and education. This analysis informs the development of a typology of anti-competitive nonprofit markets which is used to classify the three historical examples into eight traits. Finally, this typology is applied to three new markets – animal shelters, thrift stores, and soup kitchens – which have less in common with purely for-profit markets and have little or no discussion in antitrust literature. We find that the nonprofit form per se does not indicate an absence of anticompetitive practices or antitrust concerns; however, certain combinations of attributes – such as purely donative revenues and an absence of pricing ability – make the threat of anticompetitive practice less oppressive.

Suggested Citation

  • Searing Elizabeth A. M., 2014. "Charitable (Anti)Trust: The Role of Antitrust Regulation in the Nonprofit Sector," Nonprofit Policy Forum, De Gruyter, vol. 5(2), pages 1-28, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:nonpfo:v:5:y:2014:i:2:p:28:n:3
    DOI: 10.1515/npf-2014-0006
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1515/npf-2014-0006
    Download Restriction: For access to full text, subscription to the journal or payment for the individual article is required.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1515/npf-2014-0006?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Avner BEN-NER & Theresa VAN HOOMISSEN, 1991. "Nonprofit Organizations In The Mixed Economy," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(4), pages 519-550, October.
    2. Donald E. Heller, 1997. "Student Price Response in Higher Education," The Journal of Higher Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 68(6), pages 624-659, November.
    3. Tomas J. Philipson & Richard A. Posner, 2009. "Antitrust in the Not-for-Profit Sector," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 52(1), pages 1-18, February.
    4. James E. Prieger & Wei‐Min Hu, 2012. "Applications Barrier To Entry And Exclusive Vertical Contracts In Platform Markets," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 50(2), pages 435-452, April.
    5. Burcay Erus & Burton Weisbrod, 2003. "Objective Functions and Compensation Structures in Nonprofit and For-Profit Organizations. Evidence from the "Mixed" Hospital Industry," NBER Chapters, in: The Governance of Not-for-Profit Organizations, pages 117-142, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. John Simpson & Richard Shin, 1998. "Do Nonprofit Hospitals Exercise Market Power?," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(2), pages 141-157.
    7. Richard Steinberg, 1986. "The Revealed Objective Functions of Nonprofit Firms," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 17(4), pages 508-526, Winter.
    8. I. M. Dobbs, 2003. "Demand, cost elasticities and pricing benchmarks in the hypothetical monopoly test: the consequences of a simple SSNIP," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(9), pages 545-548.
    9. Dennis W. Carlton & Gustavo E. Bamberger & Roy J. Epstein, 1995. "Antitrust and Higher Education: Was There a Conspiracy to Restrict Financial Aid?," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 26(1), pages 131-147, Spring.
    10. Yoshiho Matsunaga & Naoto Yamauchi, 2004. "Is the Government Failure Theory Still Relevant? A panel analysis using US state level data," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 75(2), pages 227-263, June.
    11. Ballou, Jeffrey P. & Weisbrod, Burton A., 2003. "Managerial rewards and the behavior of for-profit, governmental, and nonprofit organizations: evidence from the hospital industry," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(9-10), pages 1895-1920, September.
    12. Paul Gertler & Jennifer Kuan, 2009. "Does It Matter Who Your Buyer Is? The Role of Nonprofit Mission in the Market for Corporate Control of Hospitals," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 52(2), pages 295-306, May.
    13. Patrick Massey, 2000. "Market Definition and Market Power in Competition Analysis - Some Practical Issues," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 31(4), pages 309-328.
    14. James Andreoni & A. Abigail Payne, 2003. "Do Government Grants to Private Charities Crowd Out Giving or Fund-raising?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(3), pages 792-812, June.
    15. Martin S. Gaynor & Samuel A. Kleiner & William B. Vogt, 2013. "A Structural Approach to Market Definition With an Application to the Hospital Industry," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(2), pages 243-289, June.
    16. Lynk, William J, 1995. "Nonprofit Hospital Mergers and the Exercise of Market Power," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 38(2), pages 437-461, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Cory S. Capps & Dennis W. Carlton & Guy David, 2020. "Antitrust Treatment Of Nonprofits: Should Hospitals Receive Special Care?," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 58(3), pages 1183-1199, July.
    2. Capps, Cory S. & Carlton, Dennis W. & David, Guy, 2010. "Antitrust Treatment of Nonprofits: Should Hospitals Receive Special Care?," Working Papers 232, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, George J. Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State.
    3. Berden, Carolien & Croes, R. & Kemp, R. & Mikkers, Misja & van der Noll, Rob & Shestalova, V. & Svitak, Jan, 2019. "Hospital Competition in the Netherlands : An Empirical Investigation," Discussion Paper 2019-008, Tilburg University, Tilburg Law and Economic Center.
    4. Newton, Ashley N., 2015. "Executive compensation, organizational performance, and governance quality in the absence of owners," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 195-222.
    5. Paskalev, Zdravko & Yildirim, Huseyin, 2017. "A theory of outsourced fundraising: Why dollars turn into “Pennies for Charity”," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 1-18.
    6. Tomas J. Philipson & Richard A. Posner, 2009. "Antitrust in the Not-for-Profit Sector," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 52(1), pages 1-18, February.
    7. Antonio PICCIOTTI & Andrea BERNARDONI & Massimo COSSIGNANI & Luca FERRUCCI, 2014. "Social Cooperatives In Italy: Economic Antecedents And Regional Distribution," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 85(2), pages 213-231, June.
    8. R. Halbersma & M. Mikkers & E. Motchenkova & I. Seinen, 2011. "Market structure and hospital–insurer bargaining in the Netherlands," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 12(6), pages 589-603, December.
    9. Ben-Ner Avner & Karaca-Mandic Pinar & Ren Ting, 2012. "Ownership and Quality in Markets with Asymmetric Information: Evidence from Nursing Homes," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 12(1), pages 1-33, October.
    10. Marc Jegers, 2010. "The effect of board‐manager agency conflicts on non‐profit organisations’ earnings and cost allocation manipulations," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(5), pages 407-419.
    11. Scharf, Kimberley, 2014. "Impure prosocial motivation in charity provision: Warm-glow charities and implications for public funding," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 50-57.
    12. Zachary Halberstam & James R. Hines Jr., 2023. "Quality-Aware Tax Incentives for Charitable Contributions," CESifo Working Paper Series 10250, CESifo.
    13. Marianne Bertrand & Kevin F. Hallock & Richard Arnould, 2005. "Does Managed Care Change the Management of Nonprofit Hospitals? Evidence from the Executive Labor Market," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 58(3), pages 494-514, April.
    14. Burgess, James Jr. & Carey, Kathleen & Young, Gary J., 2005. "The effect of network arrangements on hospital pricing behavior," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 391-405, March.
    15. Martin Gaynor & Deborah Haas-Wilson, 1999. "Change, Consolidation, and Competition in Health Care Markets," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 13(1), pages 141-164, Winter.
    16. Gong, Ning & Grundy, Bruce D., 2014. "The design of charitable fund-raising schemes: Matching grants or seed money," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 147-165.
    17. Vladislav Valentinov, 2009. "The German Gemeinwirtschaftslehre: Implications for modern nonprofit economics," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 3(2), pages 186-195, June.
    18. Valentinov, Vladislav, 2009. "Managerial nonpecuniary preferences in the market failure theories of nonprofit organisation," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 36(1/2), pages 81-92.
    19. Paula James, 2002. "Concentration and Pricing in the Hospital Sector," Working Papers 02-08, New York University, Leonard N. Stern School of Business, Department of Economics.
    20. Anna I. Meleshkina & Irina N. Filippova & Andrey E. Shastitko, 2022. "Empirical geographic market definition for antitrust: The case of the Russian cement market," Upravlenets, Ural State University of Economics, vol. 13(6), pages 15-29, January.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bpj:nonpfo:v:5:y:2014:i:2:p:28:n:3. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Peter Golla (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.degruyter.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.