{"title":"The Decline of Volunteering in the United States: Is it the Economy?","authors":"Rebecca Nesbit, L. Paarlberg, Suyeon Jo","doi":"10.1177/08997640241264264","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"This article investigates the complex interactions between local and national economic contexts and volunteering behavior. We examine three dimensions of local economic context—economic disadvantage (e.g., the percentage of families living in poverty), income inequality, and economic growth (e.g., the change in median household income)—and the impact of a national/global economic jolt—the Great Recession. Analysis of data from the Current Population Survey’s (CPS) Volunteering Supplement (2002–2015) reveals that individuals who live in places characterized by economic disadvantage and economic inequality are less likely to volunteer than individuals in more advantaged, equitable communities. The recession had a dampening effect on volunteering overall, but it had the largest dampening effect on individual volunteering in communities with above-average rates of income equality and higher rates of economic growth. While individuals living in rural communities were more likely to volunteer than their urban counterparts before the recession, rural/urban differences disappeared after the recession.","PeriodicalId":48235,"journal":{"name":"Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.3000,"publicationDate":"2024-08-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly","FirstCategoryId":"90","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1177/08997640241264264","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"SOCIAL ISSUES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
This article investigates the complex interactions between local and national economic contexts and volunteering behavior. We examine three dimensions of local economic context—economic disadvantage (e.g., the percentage of families living in poverty), income inequality, and economic growth (e.g., the change in median household income)—and the impact of a national/global economic jolt—the Great Recession. Analysis of data from the Current Population Survey’s (CPS) Volunteering Supplement (2002–2015) reveals that individuals who live in places characterized by economic disadvantage and economic inequality are less likely to volunteer than individuals in more advantaged, equitable communities. The recession had a dampening effect on volunteering overall, but it had the largest dampening effect on individual volunteering in communities with above-average rates of income equality and higher rates of economic growth. While individuals living in rural communities were more likely to volunteer than their urban counterparts before the recession, rural/urban differences disappeared after the recession.
期刊介绍:
Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, the journal of the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action, is an international, interdisciplinary journal that seeks to enhance the quality of life and general welfare of humanity through effective and appropriate voluntary action by reporting on research and programs related to voluntarism, citizen participation, philanthropy, and nonprofit organizations in societies around the world.