Current Projects

Charities and Charitable Giving

What motivates individuals to give? PEDAL researchers are working on topics that cover understanding such things as what affects individual giving and the operations of charities. If the government gives a charity a grant, what happens to private giving to that charity and how are charities fundraising efforts affected? If there is a natural disaster, what happens to charitable giving to charities that provide relief services and what happens to the support of local charities? When an individual asks her friends, families, and colleagues to donate to a particular charity, do they? If they do, what happens to their giving to other charities? As Canada's neighbourhoods become more diverse, what happens to charitable giving? These are examples of the types of questions researchers are asking.

PEDAL researchers are using data from Canadian, US, and UK sources for their research on charities and charitable giving.

Charity surveys

PEDAL researchers have teamed with CanadaHelps.org and JustGiving.com to learn more about online giving and fundraising pages. In Canada, the U.K. and elsewhere, charities and individuals play an important role in helping individuals and promoting social welfare, the arts, the environment, the development of youth, the support of those in need, and other goods and services that are not easily provided in the for-profit marketplace. Our research will help us understand better what encourages giving, how government policies can affect giving, and how charities can provide a high level of goods and services.

See summary of survey responses for Canadian donors here.

See summary of survey responses for Canadian charities here.

NEW: See summary of survey responses for the U.K. fundraisers, sponsors, and donors here.

Elementary/Secondary Education

PEDAL researchers have been using administrative data from Ontario and BC to study issues concerning the public school competition, the effects of relative age on test scores, the effects of teacher strikes on test scores, the effects of ESL funding on student performance, and the effects of school board consolidation on student performance. Our researchers are pursuing the linking of data from early childhood surveys and student performance on standardized tests to understand better the role of early childhood educational programs on student performance.

Post-Secondary Education

What are the key determinants for pursuing a Post-Secondary Education Degree? Why is there a difference in PSE participation between boys and girls? How do scholarships and financial aid policies affect PSE participation? Are there key determinants for success in university? Our researchers have been studying these questions and are engaged in a multi-year project to bring together data from several sources to study issues pertaining to access to and persistence in post-secondary education.

Corporate Generosity and Financial Performance

In the popular press, companies are alternately praised and pilloried for being too generous or not generous enough to their employees, communities, and our society. Researchers are studying the financial consequences of charitable giving. The research concerns short and long term impact of discretionary initiatives focused on benefiting employees and/or the local community.

Parental attitudes and new career entrants

Prior organizational behavior research has focused on how situational factors influence attitudes towards contingent work (e.g., perceived difficulty finding employment, desire for flexible working hours). PEDAL researchers are taking a different approach. They are focusing on the role of fundamental individual characteristics in shaping workers' attitudes. For example, how does the degree to which the worker identifies with his or her parents affect early career decision is one question researchers are studying.

Elections and lobbying

PEDAL researchers are engaged in projects that seek to measure the influence of special interest groups on Canadian public policy and model the effects of elections on public finances.