By starting from the consideration that non-profit organizations cover a significant redistributive function beside that of governmental agencies, the paper questions why government prefers to finance via transfers private entities (lucrative and non-lucrative) rather than produce these goods directly. By generalizing the Hansmann (1986) theory we propose a ìmake or buyî approach in which the choice among three different ownership regimes (governmental, non- profit and for-profit) providing services in public benefit-oriented sectors is affected not only by costs reduction (X-efficiency) but also by the level of transfers (degree of ìuniversalismî) decided at a political level.