Countries’ likelihood of experiencing a large-scale disaster such as flooding, fires, or drought (often due to climate change) is unrelated to their use of formal disaster mitigation strategies; countries with the highest risk do the least planning, but countries with greater INGO presence are more likely to plan for disasters.
Civic Education & Sustainable Development
A long-term study of high school social science textbooks to document and explain emphases on multiple facets of sustainable development (e.g. emphases on human rights, equality, the environment, climate change) in more than 40 countries (including more detailed analyses of California and Texas); greater INGO presence in a country is often associated with higher emphases on sustainable development.
Causes & Consequences of Education Reform
A multi-year project that has built a database of over 10,000 education reforms in over 150 countries since 1960 to study what types of reforms occur, where and why (with a focus on the role of civil society), and to understand the effects of reform. Over time, countries with greater INGO presence do more education reform. Read more and access the data at www.werd.world.
Past Projects
The Rise of ‘Win-Win’ Ideology
Firms rated by nonprofits on their social performance and with greater numbers of nonprofits in their wider environment use more “win-win” language emphasizing a double-bottom line in their reports to stakeholders.
Reducing Firm Emissions
Firms in industries where more of their peers are rated on environmental dimensions reduce their emissions more than firms in industries with fewer rated firms.
Nonprofit Social Responsibility
Nonprofits are increasingly engaging in firm-like corporate social responsibility practices, such as signing on to global initiatives around sustainability (e.g. the Global Compact) and engaging in practices of good governance (e.g. adopting codes of conduct and strategic planning).
