The regulatory breadth index: A new tool for the measurement and comparison of state‐level charity regulation in the United States

Abstract

AbstractThe bulk of charity regulation in the United States occurs at the state level, yet state‐level charity regulation remains relatively under‐researched within nonprofit scholarship, particularly from a comparative perspective. The complexity and variation in statutory regulation, coupled with the large volume of legal research required to study state‐level charity regulation systematically, has impeded scholarly progress toward a better understanding of the US charitable sector. We address this problem by deriving a state‐level charity regulatory breadth index (RBI) that will enable nonprofit researchers to contextualize state‐level charity research within a broader framework and to incorporate state‐level regulation into analyses across states. Policymakers can also benefit from the ability to benchmark their regulatory regimes against their peers.