Walking the Regulatory Line: The Effects of a Disbursement Quota on Foundations

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Grasse, Nathan J.; Searing, Elizabeth A. M.; Phillips, Susan D.
• 署名单位: Carleton University; University of Texas System; University of Texas Dallas
• 刊物名称: PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REVIEW
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0033-3352; 1540-6210
• DOI: 10.1111/puar.70128
• 发表日期: 2026-09
• 页码: 1462-1477
• 关键词: disbursement requirements; FOUNDATIONS; regulatory behavior theory; COMPLIANCE MOTIVATIONS; ACCOUNTABILITY; reputation

摘要

Foundations exist to support charitable causes over an extended period, allowing investment returns to improve social conditions. In many countries, this is regulated by a required payout percentage each year. The existing research, overwhelmingly from the United States, has examined foundations' regulatory compliance under the static conditions of the longstanding rule of distribution of 5% of assets annually. Drawing on regulatory behavior theory, this research takes advantage of the rare opportunity presented by a decrease in the disbursement rate in Canada to determine whether foundations altered their behavior and assesses the factors associated with differential responses. This facilitates the assessment of whether a mandated disbursement quota functions as a floor, a norm, or is irrelevant in guiding payouts, which will assist practitioners and policymakers in assessing the policy relevance for foundation compliance or over-compliance.