IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/envira/v51y2019i4p950-979.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Community-level impacts of the third sector: Does the local distribution of voluntary organizations influence the likelihood of volunteering?

Author

Listed:
  • John Mohan
  • Matthew R. Bennett

Abstract

Scholars have attributed various beneficial outcomes to the presence and density of the voluntary, third or non-profit sector in communities. One way in which the distribution of such organizations may benefit communities is through providing opportunities for volunteering. We hypothesize that the distribution of third-sector organizations has an influence, after controlling for relevant individual and area characteristics, on the likelihood of engaging in formal volunteering (defined as unpaid help given through, and to, third-sector organizations, rather than directly to individuals). Using administrative data from the Charity Commission, we classify organizations in terms of their geographical scale of operation. We then construct indicators of the distribution of charities, and their expenditures, for local authorities in England. We obtain data on volunteering by individuals from the Citizenship Survey and link this to administrative data contained in the Charity Commission register on the distribution of charities. We find that there is a positive relationship between the numbers of charities operating locally and the likelihood of volunteering. Other measures, however, including the distribution of charities operating either regionally or nationally, have no statistically significant effects. We find no relationship between a measure of the size of charities (the median expenditures of charities within local authorities) and the likelihood of volunteering. These findings are relevant beyond the UK to debates about the understanding of variations in voluntary action, and to discussions about the impact of the third sector upon communities.

Suggested Citation

  • John Mohan & Matthew R. Bennett, 2019. "Community-level impacts of the third sector: Does the local distribution of voluntary organizations influence the likelihood of volunteering?," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 51(4), pages 950-979, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:51:y:2019:i:4:p:950-979
    DOI: 10.1177/0308518X19831703
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0308518X19831703
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0308518X19831703?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rupasingha, Anil & Goetz, Stephan J. & Freshwater, David, 2006. "The production of social capital in US counties," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 83-101, February.
    2. Gregory D. Saxton & Michelle A. Benson, 2005. "Social Capital and the Growth of the Nonprofit Sector," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 86(1), pages 16-35, March.
    3. Obler, Jeffrey, 1981. "Private Giving in the Welfare State," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 11(1), pages 17-48, January.
    4. Avner BEN-NER & Theresa HOOMISSEN, 1992. "An Empirical Investigation Of The Joint Determination Of The Size Of The For-Profit, Nonprofit And Government Sectors," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 63(3), pages 391-415, July.
    5. Fabio Sabatini, 2008. "Social Capital and the Quality of Economic Development," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(3), pages 466-499, August.
    6. Natalia Letki, 2008. "Does Diversity Erode Social Cohesion? Social Capital and Race in British Neighbourhoods," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 56, pages 99-126, March.
    7. Scheffler, Richard M. & Brown, Timothy T. & Syme, Leonard & Kawachi, Ichiro & Tolstykh, Irina & Iribarren, Carlos, 2008. "Community-level social capital and recurrence of acute coronary syndrome," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(7), pages 1603-1613, April.
    8. Natalia Letki, 2008. "Does Diversity Erode Social Cohesion? Social Capital and Race in British Neighbourhoods," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 56(1), pages 99-126, March.
    9. Tom M. Rice & Alexander F. Sumberg, 0. "Civic Culture and Government Performance in the American States," Publius: The Journal of Federalism, CSF Associates Inc., vol. 27(1), pages 99-114.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jake M. Robinson & Anna Jorgensen & Ross Cameron & Paul Brindley, 2020. "Let Nature Be Thy Medicine: A Socioecological Exploration of Green Prescribing in the UK," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-24, May.
    2. Catherine Deri Armstrong & Rose Anne Devlin & Forough Seifi, 2023. "Build it and they will come: Volunteer opportunities and volunteering," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 56(3), pages 989-1006, August.
    3. Yahui Song & Kegao Yan & Guozhang Yan, 2024. "Complementarity or Crowding Out: The Effects of Government-Led Philanthropic Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-17, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kunal Y. Sevak & LaKami Baker, 2022. "Need‐resource indicators and nonprofit human services organization density," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 93(1), pages 129-160, March.
    2. Fernando Mata & Ravi Pendakur, 2014. "Social Capital, Diversity and Giving or Receiving Help Among Neighbours," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 118(1), pages 329-347, August.
    3. Sibylle Puntscher & Christoph Hauser & Karin Pichler & Gottfried Tappeiner, 2014. "Social Capital and Collective Memory: A Complex Relationship," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 67(1), pages 116-132, February.
    4. Barış Alpaslan & Julide Yildirim, 2020. "The Missing Link: Are Individuals with More Social Capital in Better Health? Evidence from India," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 150(3), pages 811-834, August.
    5. Hayden Armstrong & Jeremy Clark, 2013. "Does higher social diversity affect people's contributions to local schools? Evidence from New Zealand," New Zealand Economic Papers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(2), pages 188-223, August.
    6. Gereke, Johanna & Schaub, Max & Baldassarri, Delia, 2018. "Ethnic diversity, poverty and social trust in Germany: Evidence from a behavioral measure of trust," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 13(7), pages 1-15.
    7. Andrés Rodríguez-Pose & Daniel Hardy, 2015. "Cultural Diversity and Entrepreneurship in England and Wales," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 47(2), pages 392-411, February.
    8. Eiji Yamamura, 2011. "Differences in the effect of social capital on health status between workers and non-workers," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 58(4), pages 385-400, December.
    9. Bharathi, Naveen & Malghan, Deepak & Rahman, Andaleeb, 2018. "Isolated by Caste: Neighbourhood-Scale Residential Segregation in Indian Metros," SocArXiv 9ynpz, Center for Open Science.
    10. Deller, Steven C. & Conroy, Tessa & Markeson, Bjorn, 2018. "Social capital, religion and small business activity," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 365-381.
    11. Fiorillo, Damiano & Sabatini, Fabio, 2015. "Structural social capital and health in Italy," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 17(C), pages 129-142.
    12. Kustov, Alexander & Pardelli, Giuliana, 2024. "Beyond Diversity: The Role of State Capacity in Fostering Social Cohesion in Brazil," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    13. Linda Bakker & Karien Dekker, 2012. "Social Trust in Urban Neighbourhoods: The Effect of Relative Ethnic Group Position," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 49(10), pages 2031-2047, August.
    14. Salomon, Katja, 2020. "Dynamics of immigrant resentment in Europe," Discussion Papers, Presidential Department P 2020-002, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    15. Andrea Wigfield & Royce Turner, 2013. "The Development of the Good Relations Measurement Framework in Britain: A Template for Experiential Social Measurement," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 114(2), pages 655-686, November.
    16. Antti Kouvo & Carita Lockmer, 2013. "Imagine all the Neighbours: Perceived Neighbourhood Ethnicity, Interethnic Friendship Ties and Perceived Ethnic Threat in Four Nordic Countries," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 50(16), pages 3305-3322, December.
    17. Tim Reeskens, 2013. "But Who Are Those “Most People” That Can Be Trusted? Evaluating the Radius of Trust Across 29 European Societies," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 114(2), pages 703-722, November.
    18. Monica Langella & Alan Manning, 2019. "Diversity and Neighbourhood Satisfaction," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 129(624), pages 3219-3255.
    19. Morris Levy, 2017. "The Effect of Immigration from Mexico on Social Capital in the United States," International Migration Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(3), pages 757-788, September.
    20. Bujar Aruqaj, 2023. "An Integrated Approach to the Conceptualisation and Measurement of Social Cohesion," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 168(1), pages 227-263, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:51:y:2019:i:4:p:950-979. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.