Saskia Sassen - A NEW GEOGRAPHY OF POWER?

[Wojtek Sokolowski]

At 12:11 PM 5/18/99 -0400, Doug Henwood wrote:
>How, after conceding the symbiotic relations between states & NGOs and the
>role of the big ones as servants of power, does she come to this
>conclusion? And how, if states are so radically weakened, can NGOs fill the
>bill? I never understood the argument that if national states are weakened
>this opens up the space for NGOs and local governments. Aren't they even
>weaker than national governments?

yeap.  And they are basically a tool of government policies.  Government
pays for the service, they deliver it.  Most of their income comes from
public sector payments (mostly service contracts), and fee income; private
giving is only a  minuscule part (see table below).

Moreover, there is a strong positive correlations between the size of the
nonprofit sector and overall government welfare expenditures, that is, the
higher the government social welfare spendings, the greater the size of the
nonprofit sector.  

wojtek

Nonprofit revenue structure in 21 countries.
(the figures are national averages)

				Gov't	Donat.	Fees
European	Austria	50.4%	6.1%	43.5%
Union		Belgium	76.8%	4.7%	18.6%

		Finland	36.2%	5.9%	57.9%

		France		57.8%	7.5%	34.6%

		Germany	64.3%	3.4%	32.3%

		Ireland	77.2%	7.0%	15.8%

		Netherlands	59.3%	1.9%	38.8%

		Spain		32.1%	18.8%	49.0%

		UK		46.7%	8.8%	44.6%
EU Average			55.6%	7.1%	37.2%

Other		Australia	31.1%	6.4%	62.5%
Developed	Israel		63.9%	10.2%	25.8%
Countries	Japan		45.2%	2.6%	52.1%

		US		30.5%	12.9%	56.6%

 Average			51.7%	7.4%	40.9%

Central	Czech Rep.	39.4%	14.0%	46.6%
and		Hungary	27.1%	18.4%	54.6%
Eastern	Romania	45.0%	26.5%	28.5%
Europe		Slovakia	21.9%	23.3%	54.9%
CEE Average			33.3%	20.5%	46.1%

Latin		Argentina	19.5%	7.5%	73.1%
America	Brazil		-	-	-

		Colombia	14.9%	14.9%	70.2%

		Mexico		8.5%	6.3%	85.2%

		Peru		19.3%	12.9%	67.8%
LA	 Average		15.5%	10.4%	74.1%

Grand Average			41.3%	10.5%	48.2%

Source: Johns Hopkins Comparative Nonprofit Sector Project