Original citation:Billis, David and Glennerster, Howard (1998) Human services and the voluntary sector: towards a theory of comparative advantage. Journal of social policy, 27 (1). pp. 79-98.
This article draws together the findings from a program of research undertaken in the United Kingdom during the decade 1980-1990 ("the Thatcher period"). Using an analytic framework that distinguishes among the activities of agencies, their implicit welfare policies, organizational structures, governance systems, and human and financial resources, this article explores changes in the work of local voluntary and nonprofit agencies. Major changes in each of these dimensions are identified, and the relationships among them are discussed. The broad objective of the article is to increase understanding of the underlying structures of volun tary agencies.
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