The Economic Rationale of Non-profit Organizations in the Delivery of Welfare Services

The Economic Rationale of Non-profit Organizations in the Delivery of Welfare Services DomeNico Raguseo – Helena Kuvíková Although the economic activity in a mixed economy is undertaken by various kinds of organizations, only recently, researchers have been paying attention to the forces influencing the size, composition and financial structure of the private non-profit organizations. With this paper, we want to add new evidence on the way European countries deal with the provision of welfare services, mostly focusing on the role played by the private non-profit sector. We are really inter-ested in the relationship existing between the non-profit and public providers of education, health and social services in Europe. We will perform several empirical tests in order to know whether among the European countries, the non-profit and public sectors are “partners” or “rivals” in the provision of welfare services, and, whether such a relationship holds for the whole 17 European sample countries.