Center for the Study of Philanthropy and Voluntarism
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Research

 

The Center supports research projects carried on at Duke by faculty and graduate students. The faculty in the Center have active research programs related to philanthropy and voluntarism, some of which is reflected in their publications. Past and current research projects include: an examination of the predicted and actual effects of tax reform on charitable giving, an analysis of government policy towards art museums, study into the implications of entrepreneurial behavior in nonprofit organizations, study of the history of philanthropic giving, an analysis of the increase in expenditures in private research universities, an analysis of government regulation of the nonprofit sector, a study of revenue patterns in universities, an analysis of private school enrollment in the United States, a study of foundation decision making, and an analysis of the impact of private foundations on higher education. Examples of publications include:

  • Clotfelter, Charles T., “The Nonprofit Sector in K-12 Education,” in Amy Ellen Schwartz (ed.), City Taxes, City Spending: Essays in Honor of Dick Netzer(Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, 2004), pp. 166-192.

  • Clotfelter, Charles T., “Alumni Giving to Elite Private Colleges and Universities,” Economics of Education Review 22 (No. 2, 2003), 109-120.

  • Auten, Gerald, Holger Sieg, and Charles T. Clotfelter, “Charitable Giving, Income and Taxes: An Analysis of Panel Data,” American Economic Review92 (March 2002), 371-382.

  • Clotfelter, Charles T., “Who are the Alumni Donors? Giving by Two Generations of Alumni from Selective Colleges,” Nonprofit Management and Leadership12 (Winter 2001), 119-138.

  • Auten, Gerald E., Charles T. Clotfelter, and Richard L. Schmalbeck, “Taxes and Philanthropy Among the Wealthy,” in Joel Slemrod (ed.), Does Atlas Shrug? The Economic Consequences of Taxing the Rich(New York: Russell Sage Foundation and Harvard University Press, 2000), pp. 392-424.

  • Clotfelter, Charles T. (ed.), Amateurs in Public Service: Volunteering, Service-Learning, and Community Service Programs, a special issue of Law and Contemporary Problems62 (Autumn 1999) (with introduction).

  • Clotfelter, Charles T. and Thomas Ehrlich (eds.), Philanthropy and the Nonprofit Sector in a Changing America(with introduction and chapter). Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1999.

  • Clotfelter, Charles T., “The Economics of Giving,” in John W. Barry and Bruno V. Manno (eds.), Giving Better, Giving Smarter: Working Papers of the National Commission on Philanthropy and Civic Renewal (Washington, DC: National Commission on Philanthropy and Civic Renewal, 1997), pp. 31-55.

  • Clotfelter, Charles T., Buying the Best: Cost Escalation in Elite Higher Education. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996.

  • Clotfelter, Charles T. (ed.), Who Benefits from the Nonprofit Sector? (with introduction). Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992.

Further research publications by Professor Clotfelter can be found HERE.

Support has also been given to Duke faculty not in the Center for research related to the history of women's voluntary associations and the economic analysis of altruistic behavior.

Not only does the Center support research by faculty, it also assists doctoral students in writing their dissertations, an activity that is part of the teaching as well as the research mission of the Center and the University.  The Center has given such support to doctoral students in over a half dozen Arts & Sciences departments as well as the Duke Divinity School . The range of topics covered is suggested by the following list of Duke doctoral students who have received support, along with their topics:

  • Sahar Akhtar (Philosophy), “The Value of Charity.”
  • Kathryn Blanchard (Religion), “We Are Not Our Own: Shape of Christian Economic Freedom.”
  • Alan Bloom (History), “Caught Between Scylla & Charybdis: Homelessness in Chicago, 1850s-1920s.”
  • Nigel Boyle (Political Science), “Voluntary Organizations and Public Policy: The Case of Active Employment Policy in Britain, 1979-88.”
  • William Bynum (Sociology), “Voluntarism in America : Race and the Role of Religion.”
  • Neil Carlson (Political Science), “Testing the Transmission Belt: How Internal Associational Attitudes Affect National Political Attitudes.”
  • Patricia Farnan (Political Science), “Voluntary Societies and Working Mothers: A Comparative Analysis of the Response of Voluntarism to the Growing Needs of Mothers in the Workplace.”
  • Jennifer Graber (Religion), “’The Motives of Philanthropy’”: Thomas Eddy and New York ’s First Prison.”
  • Alison Hagy (Economics), “The Market for Child Care: Quality, Public Policy, and the Role of the Nonprofit Sector.”
  • Lisa Hazirjian (History), “The Daily Struggle: Poverty, Power and Working Class Life in Rocky Mount, NC, 1929-1968.”
  • Jennifer Hirsch (Cultural Anthropology), “Building Multicultural Networks in Global Times: Strategies and Lessons for Working Together.”
  • Dan Hungerman (Economics), “Charitable Giving to Churches.”
  • Kelly Johnson (Religion), “Beggars and Choosers: Christian Begging and the Economic Reconstruction of Charity.”
  • Jinbang Kim (Economics), “Economic Approaches to Altruism: A Review.”
  • Harlan Koff (Political Science), “Knocking Down the Walls: The Integration on Non-European Union Immigrants in Western Europe.”
  • Kevin Kresse (Sociology), “Transnational Voluntarism and the Development of a New Peace Movement Strategy: The Origins of `Witness for Peace'.”
  • Robert Leonard (Economics), “The Ford Foundation's Support of Economic Research.”
  • Marc Magee (Sociology), “Free Exchange: Economic Prosperity through Social Liberalization.”
  • Susan McDonic (Cultural Anthropology), “Transnational Christian Charity: World Vision, Faith, Development and the Negotiation of Culture.”
  • Mike Muerer (Economics), “Charitable Contributions in a Finitely Repeated Game.”
  • Mark A. Musick (Sociology), “Public vs. Private Altruism: The Interplay between Religious Affiliation, Belief & Participation.”
  • Matthew O'Meagher (History), “’Thank God for the New Type of Gringo': North American Catholic Volunteers in Latin America, 1959-62.”
  • Imke Risopp-Nickelson (Political Science), “The Politics of Norm Internalization.”
  • Milton DeKalb Terrell (Economics), “Unfair Competition by Nonprofit Organizations: A Survey of the Issues.”
  • Natalie Webb (Economics), “Corporate Direct Giving, Foundation Giving, and Special Programs Among Corporation Philanthropy Among Top U.S. Corporations in the 1980s.”
  • Stephanie Yuhl (History), “Reinventing the Holy City: Art, Identity and Change in Charleston, SC. ”

 

 

 
 
Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy Duke University