The Productivity of Volunteer Labour: DEA-Based Evidence from Italy

Sergio Destefanis and Ornella Maietta

Chapter 9 in Paid and Unpaid Labour in the Social Economy. An International Perspective, 2009, pp 143-164 from AIEL - Associazione Italiana Economisti del Lavoro

Abstract: This paper analyses the relatively novel concept of a downward-sloping demand for volunteer labour, using data from the Italian social services sector. Both descriptive and econometric evidence shows that the price of volunteer labour (proxied by its shadow price obtained through DEA) is negatively related to the number of volunteer hours. Furthermore, the demand for volunteer labour is higher in areas relatively well endowed with social capital, where there is also evidence that organizations refrain from substituting volunteers for paid workers when the latter become more expensive. This finding has some relevance for the debate on economic and social convergence across European regions.

Keywords: demand for volunteer labour; social capital; voluntary work; productivity measurement. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D23 D64 L31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Chapter: The Productivity of Volunteer Labour: DEA-Based Evidence from Italy (2009)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ail:chapts:03-09

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