Performance measurement in nonprofit governance: an empirical study of the Minnesota independent school districts

Linearity and input separability assumptions are pervasive in most nonprofit cost and performance measurement systems. In this paper, we employ both parametric and nonparametric econometric methodologies to test the linearity and input separability assumptions using data collected from the Minnesota independent school districts. Our test results reject both the assumptions for the Minnesota independent school districts. These findings suggest a need to develop alternative procedures that do not rely on these two pervasive assumptions if the information provided by not-for-profit performance measurement systems is to be relevant for decision making and performance evaluation.

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