Not logged in.

Contribution Details

Type Working Paper
Scope Discipline-based scholarship
Title Is Volunteering Rewarding in Itself?
Organization Unit
Authors
  • Stephan Meier
  • Alois Stutzer
Language
  • English
Institution University of Zurich
Series Name Working paper series / Institute for Empirical Research in Economics
Number No. 180
ISSN 1424-0459
Date 2004
Abstract Text Volunteering constitutes one of the most important pro-social activities.nFollowing Adam Smith, helping others is the way to higher individual well-being. This viewncontrasts with the selfish utility maximizer who avoids costs from helping others. The twonrival views are studied empirically. We find robust evidence that volunteers are morensatisfied with their life than non-volunteers. Causality is addressed taking advantage of annatural experiment: the collapse of East Germany and its infrastructure of volunteering.nPeople who accidentally lost their opportunities for volunteering are compared to peoplenwho experienced no change in their volunteer status.
Official URL http://www.econ.uzh.ch/wp.html
PDF File Download from ZORA
Export BibTeX
EP3 XML (ZORA)