The Price of Virtue

It is well known that the voluntary sector in modern society is large in terms of economic activity - but how large? The authors of this pioneering book attempt to address this problem by utilizing survey techniques, originally developed in environmental economics, to place an economic value on the benefits provided by the voluntary sector in the UK. The authors comprehensively detail the analytical foundations of their survey methodology, a stated preference approach, and the results which were achieved. The economic value of the voluntary sector is elicited by discovering the general public's willingness to pay, to maintain charitable services that are at a hypothetical risk of closure. This willingness to pay is shown to be an important element of the economic value of the voluntary sector. The authors move on to investigate the benefits provided by the charitable sector in general and by housing and homelessness charities in particular. The book considers how, if people are willing to pay more for charities than they actually do, this economic surplus can be captured and turned into flows of income for the charities themselves. Fiscal incentives, the efficacy of various fund-raising methods and the benefits of population targeting are all examined as a means to this end. The book also discusses whether the value of charities can be defined in a wider context in terms of social capital. This highly innovative book will be of great interest to social economists, social scientists and all organizations working within and connected to the voluntary sector.