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The Organizational Evolution of the American National Red Cross: An Austrian and Bloomington Approach to Organizational Growth and Expansion

In: The Austrian and Bloomington Schools of Political Economy

Author

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  • Laura E. Grube
  • Stefanie Haeffele-Balch
  • ErikaGrace Davies

Abstract

The American National Red Cross is in many ways the iconic symbol for disaster response and recovery. The organization, founded in 1881, has a long track record for coming to the aid of those in need in the wake of wars, natural disasters, and other crises. However, in the wake of recent disasters, the Red Cross has been criticized for underperforming. By combining the literature on bureaucracy in Austrian economics and the literature on monocentricity in the work of Vincent Ostrom and Elinor Ostrom, we provide an analysis of the Red Cross that helps explain the organization’s evolution over time and that also yields implications for disaster management more broadly. Specifically, the Red Cross is a bureaucracy that has become increasingly centralized and rigid as it has become further enmeshed with governmental responsibilities.

Suggested Citation

  • Laura E. Grube & Stefanie Haeffele-Balch & ErikaGrace Davies, 2017. "The Organizational Evolution of the American National Red Cross: An Austrian and Bloomington Approach to Organizational Growth and Expansion," Advances in Austrian Economics, in: The Austrian and Bloomington Schools of Political Economy, volume 22, pages 89-105, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    • Handle: RePEc:eme:aaeczz:s1529-213420170000022006
    DOI: 10.1108/S1529-213420170000022006
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Russell Sobel & Peter Leeson, 2006. "Government's response to Hurricane Katrina: A public choice analysis," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 127(1), pages 55-73, April.
    2. Ostrom, Vincent & Tiebout, Charles M. & Warren, Robert, 1961. "The Organization of Government in Metropolitan Areas: A Theoretical Inquiry," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 55(4), pages 831-842, December.
    3. Emily Chamlee-Wright & Virgil Storr, 2010. "Expectations of government’s response to disaster," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 144(1), pages 253-274, July.
    4. Lembke B., 1918. "√ a. p," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 111(1), pages 709-712, February.
    5. Stefanie Haeffele-Balch & Virgil Henry Storr, 2015. "Austrian Contributions to the Literature on Natural and Unnatural Disasters," Advances in Austrian Economics, in: New Thinking in Austrian Political Economy, volume 19, pages 67-93, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    6. Steven Horwitz, 2009. "Best Responders: Post-Katrina Innovation and Improvisation by Wal-Mart and the U.S. Coast Guard," Innovations: Technology, Governance, Globalization, MIT Press, vol. 4(2), pages 93-99, April.
    7. Christopher J. Coyne & Jayme Lemke, 2012. "Lessons from The Cultural and Political Economy of Recovery," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 71(1), pages 215-228, January.
    8. Virgil Henry Storr & Stefanie Haeffele-Balch, 2012. "Post-disaster Community Recovery in Heterogeneous, Loosely Connected Communities," Review of Social Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 70(3), pages 295-314, October.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Lewis, Paul, 2021. "Elinor's Ostrom's ‘realist orientation’: An investigation of the ontological commitments of her analysis of the possibility of self-governance," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 623-636.
    3. Stefanie Haeffele & Virgil Henry Storr, 2019. "Understanding nonprofit social enterprises: Lessons from Austrian economics," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 32(3), pages 229-249, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Nonprofits; disasters; Hurricane Sandy; Red Cross; Austrian economics; B53; H84; L31; L32; Q54;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B53 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Austrian
    • H84 - Public Economics - - Miscellaneous Issues - - - Disaster Aid
    • L31 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise - - - Nonprofit Institutions; NGOs; Social Entrepreneurship
    • L32 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise - - - Public Enterprises; Public-Private Enterprises
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming

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