Would nonprofit workers accept to earn less? Evidence from France

Abstract

This paper focuses on wage differentials between french nonprofit, for-profit and public sectors. Considering the public sector allows to test more extensively the labor donation theory (Preston, 1989). The findings support this theory because nonprofit workers accept to earn significantly less than they would earn in the for-profit and public sectors. They also suggest differences in the motivations of workers in these sectors. Nonprofit workers are attracted to their work for reasons transcending material compensation.