USC Price School of Public Policy

James M. Ferris

jferris

Professor
Emery Evans Olson Chair in Non-Profit Entrepreneurship and Public Policy
Director, Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy

Ralph and Goldy Lewis Hall 210
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0626

Phone: (213) 740-0388

Fax: (213) 740-0001

Ph.D. in Economics

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Expertise

Philanthropy, nonprofit economics, public finance, public policy, institutional analysis

Biographical sketch

James Ferris, Ph.D., specializes in the economics of the public and nonprofit sectors, public finance, and public policy. His research focuses on the shifting roles of the public, nonprofit, and for-profit sectors in governance and the economy. Professor Ferris is currently investigating the changing landscape of philanthropy, social capital and philanthropy, the role of philanthropic foundations in public policymaking, the causes and consequences of the conversion of nonprofit health care organizations to for-profit status, and intersectoral alliances for urban problem solving. His previous research examines public service delivery, focusing on the contracting decisions of local governments, the use of volunteers, and strategies to improve public sector performance through competition, decentralization, and privatization. He serves as a member of the editorial board of the Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, the Grants Advisory Committee of the Aspen Institute’s Nonprofit Sector and Philanthropy Research Fund, the academic council of the National Center on Nonprofit Enterprise, and as a vice president of the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Association. He previously served as associate editor of the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory. Professor Ferris has been a visiting scholar at the Workshop on Political Theory and Policy Analysis at Indiana University, the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy, and the Department of Economics at Erasmus University, the Netherlands. He has also been a visiting fellow and Senior Fulbright Scholar at the Australian National University. He has served as a consultant to a variety of governmental agencies and international organizations, including the World Bank.

Publications

  • Ferris, J. with N. Williams, “Foundation Strategies for Social Impact: System Change and Public Policy Approaches.”; Nonprofit Policy Forum 1 (1): Article 4 ; 2010
  • Ferris, J., Foundations for LA: 2007 Update: The Scale, Scope and Reach of Foundation Philanthropy in Los Angeles County; Research Report and Report Summary, The USC Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy; 2010
  • Ferris, J., Prospects for Foundation Philanthropy in Los Angeles During A Period of Uncertainty: 2010; Research Brief ; 2010
  • Ferris, J. with M. Sharp, and H. Harmssen., “How Foundations Use Communications to Advance Their Policy Work,” Research Paper – 34; The USC Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy ; 2010
  • Ferris, J., with G. Henstcke and H. Joy, “Philanthropic Strategies for School Reform: An Analysis of Foundation Choices”; Educational Policy; 2008
  • Ferris, J., with E. Brown, “Social Capital and Philanthropy: An Analysis of the Impact of Social Capital on Giving and Volunteering”; Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly; 2007
  • Ferris, J., “California Foundations: Changing Fortunes and Prospects”; California Foundations: An Update of the State’s Grantmaking Community, New York: The Foundation Center; 2006
  • Ferris, J., “Philanthropy and the Economy: Maintaining vs. Investing in the Nonprofit Sector”; Nonprofit Decision-Making under Uncertainty, Dennis Young (Ed.), New York: The Foundation Center; 2006
  • Ferris, J., California Foundations 2004: Trends and Patterns; The Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy, USC, (with E. Graddy and A. Ferree); 2006
  • Ferris, J., Philanthropy for the 21st Century; The Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy, USC; 2006
  • Ferris, J., Foundations for L.A.?: The Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy; ; 2006
  • Ferris, James M., “The Double-Edged Sword of Social Service Contracting: Public Accountability vs. Nonprofit Autonomy”; Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 3 (Summer 1993) pp. 363-376. Reprinted in Steve Ott, ed. The Nonprofit Sector. The Westview Press; 2000
  • Graddy, Elizabeth A. with James Ferris, “Structural Changes in the Hospital Industry, Charity Care and the Nonprofit Role in Health Care”; Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 28:1, pp. 18-31; 1999
  • Ferris, James M., “The Role of the Nonprofit Self-Governing Society”; Voluntas, 9:2, 137-152; 1998
  • Ferris, James M. with E. Graddy, “A Contractual Framework for the New Public Management Theory”; International Public Management Journal, 1:2, 225-240; 1998
  • Graddy, Elizabeth A. with James Ferris, “A Contractual Framework for the New Public Management Theory”; International Public Management Journal, 1:2, pp. 225-240; 1998

    Funded projects

    Research centers

    • Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy

      Established in 2000, the Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy promotes more effective philanthropy and strengthens the nonprofit sector to advance public problem solving. Its research focuses on trends and patterns in philanthropy and the nonprofit sector, philanthropic strategies for social impact, and challenges in philanthropic stewardship and leadership.