Place Matters: The Spatial Effects of Human Service Expenditures

Abstract

Place matters in human services. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) devolves spending to services, most often provided by nonprofit organizations. We argue that this devolution allows for people to "vote with their feet" (Ostrom, Tiebout, and Warren 1961: "The organization of government in metropolitan areas: A theoretical inquiry." American Political Science Review 55:831-42) in seeking jurisdictions where there will be more spending on human services. This paper considers the spatial patterns of human service expenditures, arguing that people of lower Socio-Economic Status (SES) are less likely to benefit from higher human service spending. We use a spatial Durbin regression to indicate the effects of SES on expenditures in a home county as well as the spillover effect to surrounding counties. The results show that while human service expenditures increase as African American and Renter populations increase in a home county, they also indicate that neighboring counties free-ride on the efforts of the home jurisdiction. Likewise, as a population ages, there is a very large free-riding effect. We conclude that the decentralized TANF policy regime allows for jurisdictions to specialize in human services.

Understanding Location and Density: A Spatial Analysis of Cuyahoga County Ohio’s Nonprofit Sector

“…This article contributes to the literature related to the ecology of the nonprofit sector by studying the intra-county implications of nonprofit density and embracing location dependence by entering nonprofit location as a key variable. By explicitly incorporating spatial elements into theory and analysis in the form of nonprofit location, this study contributes to a burgeoning literature related to spatial perspectives in nonprofit studies (Bielefeld et al, 1997; Da Costa, 2016; Never, 2016; Yan et al, 2014). While spatial considerations are important for designing appropriate methodological approaches, they also allow researchers to ask more detailed questions, enriching our understanding of nonprofit behavior and processes (MacIndoe & Oakley, 2023).…”

Do Charitable Foundations Spend Money Where People Need It Most? A Spatial Analysis of China

“…Furthermore, a few studies also find that there is a large gap between charity expenditures and the real needs of communities, in addition to the unbalanced locations. Spatial analysis of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program in the Rustbelt states of the United States shows that the higher income counties are more likely to receive benefits from human services expenditures than the lower income counties [9]. A study across 44 countries in sub-Saharan Africa also indicates a large gap and mismatch between the expenditures of conservation NGOs and community needs [10].…”

Nonprofit Supply and Citizen Demand: A Spatial Analysis of the Market for Third Sector Services

“…PAQ Vol 47, Issue 1 community and market characteristics. Findings from these studies are mixed, however (Harrison & Thornton, 2014;Jeong & Cui, 2020;Kim, 2015;Never, 2011;Never & Westberg, 2016;Peck, 2008;Polson, 2017;Van Puyvelde & Brown 2016;Wo, 2018). According to Yan et al (2014), "this emerging line of research often suffers from methodological limitations and has yet to benefit from the most recent advances in the statistics literature " (p. 243).…”