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Relational Goods, Monitoring and Non-Pecuniary Compensations in the Nonprofit Sector: The Case of the Italian Social Services

Author

Listed:
  • Mosca, Michele

    (University of Naples Federico II)

  • Musella, Marco

    (University of Naples Federico II)

  • Pastore, Francesco

    (Università della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli)

Abstract

This paper investigates the nonprofit wage gap suggesting a theoretical framework where, like in Akerlof (1984), effort correlates not only with wages, but also with non-monetary compensations. These take the form of relational goods and services by-produced in the delivery of particular services. By paying higher non-pecuniary compensations, the nonprofit sector attracts intrinsically similarly skilled, but more motivated workers, able to provide in fact a higher level of effort than their counterparts in the forprofit sector. On an empirical ground, the paper provides a number of econometric tests that confirm the main predictions of the model in Italy’s case. It adds to the available empirical literature by introducing in the analysis direct measures of non-pecuniary compensations and job satisfaction.

Suggested Citation

  • Mosca, Michele & Musella, Marco & Pastore, Francesco, 2006. "Relational Goods, Monitoring and Non-Pecuniary Compensations in the Nonprofit Sector: The Case of the Italian Social Services," IZA Discussion Papers 2254, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2254
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Nathalie Magne, 2017. "Wage inequality in workers’ cooperatives and conventional firms," European Journal of Comparative Economics, Cattaneo University (LIUC), vol. 14(2), pages 303-329, December.
    2. Federica VIGANO & Andrea SALUSTRI, 2015. "Matching profit and Non-profit Needs: How NPOs and Cooperative Contribute to Growth in Time of Crisis. A Quantitative Approach," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 86(1), pages 157-178, March.
    3. Lanfranchi, Joseph & Narcy, Mathieu & Larguem, Makram, 2009. "Would you accept this job? An evaluation of the decision utility of workers in the for-profit and nonprofit sectors," MPRA Paper 16359, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Avner Ben‐Ner & Ting Ren, 2010. "A Comparative Study Of Allocation Of Decision‐Making Across Stakeholder Groups: The Case Of Personal Care Industries," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 81(4), pages 611-630, December.
    5. Faraudello Alessandra & Barreca Manuela & Iannaci Daniel & Lanzara Federica, 2021. "The Impact of Social Enterprises: A Bibliometric Analysis From 1991 to 2020," International Journal of Financial Research, International Journal of Financial Research, Sciedu Press, vol. 12(3), pages 421-434, May.
    6. Joseph Lanfranchi & Mathieu Narcy, 2013. "Overrepresentation of women in public and nonprofit sector jobs: Evidence from a French national survey," Post-Print halshs-00872954, HAL.
    7. Joseph Lanfranchi & Mathieu Narcy & Makram Larguem, 2010. "Shedding new light on intrinsic motivation to work: evidence from a discrete choice experiment," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 63(1), pages 75-93, February.
    8. Jung-Seung Yang, 2022. "Dynamics of Firm’s Investment in Education and Training: An Agent-based Approach," Computational Economics, Springer;Society for Computational Economics, vol. 60(4), pages 1317-1351, December.
    9. Joseph LANFRANCHI & Mathieu NARCY, 2008. "Différence De Satisfaction Dans L'Emploi Entre Secteurs À But Lucratif Et À But Non Lucratif: Le Rôle Joué Par Les Caractéristiques D'Emploi," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 79(2), pages 323-368, June.
    10. Mathieu Narcy, 2009. "Les salariés du secteur associatif sont-ils davantage intrinsèquement motivés que ceux du secteur privé ?," Economie & Prévision, La Documentation Française, vol. 0(2), pages 81-99.
    11. Leonardo Becchetti & Stefano Castriota & Ermanno Tortia, 2013. "Productivity, wages and intrinsic motivations," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 41(2), pages 379-399, August.
    12. Michele Mosca & Francesco Pastore, 2009. "Wage Effects of Recruitment Methods: The Case of the Italian Social Service Sector," AIEL Series in Labour Economics, in: Marco Musella & Sergio Destefanis (ed.), Paid and Unpaid Labour in the Social Economy. An International Perspective, edition 1, chapter 8, pages 115-141, AIEL - Associazione Italiana Economisti del Lavoro.
    13. Jeworrek, Sabrina & Mertins, Vanessa, 2019. "Mission, motivation, and the active decision to work for a social cause," IWH Discussion Papers 10/2019, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    14. Stijn VAN PUYVELDE & Marc JEGERS, 2016. "Heterogeneity and self-selection into nonprofit management," CIRIEC Working Papers 1603, CIRIEC - Université de Liège.
    15. Bernard Guéry, 2018. "Bien relationnel et bien commun : une exploration cartographique aux frontières de la philosophie et de l'économie," Post-Print hal-02552196, HAL.
    16. Joseph Lanfranchi & Mathieu Narcy, 2013. "Female Overrepresentation in Public and Nonprofit Sector Jobs [Evidence From a French National Survey]," Post-Print halshs-01081038, HAL.
    17. Román-Calderón, Juan Pablo & Battistelli, Adalgisa & Vargas-Saenz, Mario, 2014. "Antecedentes das intenções da rotatividade nas cooperativas colombianas," RAE - Revista de Administração de Empresas, FGV-EAESP Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo (Brazil), vol. 54(6), November.
    18. Maurizio Carpita & Silvia Golia, 2012. "Measuring the quality of work: the case of the Italian social cooperatives," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 46(6), pages 1659-1685, October.
    19. Stefania Capecchi & Maria Iannario & Rosaria Simone, 2018. "Well-Being and Relational Goods: A Model-Based Approach to Detect Significant Relationships," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 135(2), pages 729-750, January.
    20. Fabienne Fecher & Benoît Lévesque, 2008. "The Public Sector And The Social Economy In The Annals (1975–2007): Towards A New Paradigm," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 79(3‐4), pages 679-727, September.
    21. Sergio Destefanis & Ornella W. Maietta, 2015. "Property rights and efficiency in the care sector. Evidence from Italy," Journal of Entrepreneurial and Organizational Diversity, European Research Institute on Cooperative and Social Enterprises, vol. 4(2), pages 98-115, February.
    22. Andrea Salustri & Federica Viganò, 2015. "Human development and well-being during the great recession. The non-profit sector as a capability enhancing workplace," BEMPS - Bozen Economics & Management Paper Series BEMPS27, Faculty of Economics and Management at the Free University of Bozen.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    efficiency wages; non-profit organisations; job satisfaction; wage determination; relational goods;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I00 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - General - - - General
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • L31 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise - - - Nonprofit Institutions; NGOs; Social Entrepreneurship
    • L84 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Personal, Professional, and Business Services

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