Happy to Help: Welfare Effects of a Nationwide Volunteering Programme

Christian Krekel; Ganga Shreedhar; Helen Lee; Claire Marshall; Alison Boler; Allison Smith; Paul Dolan

doi:10.1162/rest_a_01533

Happy to Help: Welfare Effects of a Nationwide Volunteering Programme

Christian Krekel¹; Ganga Shreedhar¹; Helen Lee²; Claire Marshall²; Alison Boler³; Allison Smith³; Paul Dolan¹

¹ London School of Economics · ² National Health Service (NHS) · ³ Royal Voluntary Service

The Review of Economics and Statistics 2024 open access

Abstract We study the wellbeing returns from volunteering in England's National Health Service (NHS) Volunteer Responders, set up in response to Covid-19. Using linked survey and administrative data, we exploit the oversubscription of volunteers and the random allocation of tasks via an app to establish causality. Volunteers show stronger wellbeing and feelings of belongingness and connectedness to their local area. Welfare analyses suggest that the benefits of the programme substantially exceeded its costs. We are the first to study the welfare effects of a nationwide volunteering programme. Our findings show that pro-social behaviour improves personal wellbeing as well as social welfare.

DOI: 10.1162/rest_a_01533
Pages: 1-64
Language: en
Export: BibTeX
Sources: openalex crossref