It has long been recognized that charitable activity and charitable organizations are distributed very unevenly. Recently some relatively simplistic formulations have postulated the existence of ‘charity deserts’, areas with few registered charitable organizations in which there is a dearth of social action. We question these analyses and attempt to refine them in various ways, which point to the broad conclusion that, appropriately specified, there are significant variations between places in the distribution of charitable resources, which appear closely related to economic conditions. The logic of charity however implies that such gaps will not close easily if at all. Ample historical evidence points to significant and persistent variations. The chapter also reviews recent policy proposals regarding what might be done about so-called charity deserts.
Keywords
- Local Authority
- Social Enterprise
- Voluntary Organization
- Legal Form
- Charitable Organization
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