Veal, A.J. and Nichols, G.S. (2017) Volunteering and income inequality: cross-national relationships. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 28 (1). pp. 379-399. ISSN 0957-8765
Abstract
Wilkinson and Pickett, in their 2009 book The Spirit Level, found that, in rich countries, income inequality was associated with a range of indicators of well-being, but they did not consider the relationship with volunteering. This paper seeks to fill that gap. Using existing data sources, it shows that, among European countries, higher levels of volunteering are significantly associated with lower levels of income inequality. The relationship is particularly strong for regular and sport-related volunteering. However, while the Spirit Level thesis involves just one theoretical explanation for the income inequality/well-being relationship, namely status anxiety, in the case of volunteering, other variables are also found to be at play, including government social spending, available leisure time and geo-historical traditions. It is concluded that, while high levels of volunteering, as a form of social capital, can be seen as one of a number of features of more equal societies, disentangling cause and effect may require a more holistic approach to understanding its contribution to the generation and sustaining of social well-being.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © International Society for Third-Sector Research and The Johns Hopkins University 2016. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Volunteering; income inequality; social capital; trust |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Management School (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 15 Nov 2016 13:54 |
Last Modified: | 23 Jan 2020 08:32 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-016-9818-9 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Springer Verlag |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1007/s11266-016-9818-9 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:107282 |