Advocates for hire: How government contracting shapes politics

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Finger, Leslie K.; Lastra-Anadon, Carlos X.
• 署名单位: University of North Texas System; University of North Texas Denton; IE University
• 刊物名称: GOVERNANCE-AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF POLICY ADMINISTRATION AND INSTITUTIONS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0952-1895
• DOI: 10.1111/gove.12577
• 发表日期: 2022
• 关键词: voluntary youth service; teach; AMERICA; ORGANIZATIONS; nonprofits; feedback; IMPACT

摘要

Many public services in the United States are administered through non-state actors, many of which are nonprofits with broad social missions. Some scholars show that contracting these organizations can compromise their broader goals and political activities, while others find that such arrangements empower the organizations to engage in advocacy and influence policy. We argue that not only can contracting strengthen nonprofits' capacities to engage in politics and advance their missions, but it can mobilize political activity among those working for and engaging with the nonprofits. We use the case of Teach For America (TFA) and an instrumental variable approach that leverages plausibly exogenous variation in the timing of TFA's arrival in states to show that contracting TFA is related with the arrival of new education reform advocacy groups spearheaded by TFA alumni. This, in addition to TFA's direct efforts, leads to the passage of reform policies-especially charter school laws.