TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Meier, Stephan
AU  - Stutzer, Alois
        TI  - Is Volunteering Rewarding in Itself?
        PY  - 2004/Mar/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 1045
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/publications/dp1045
        AB  - Volunteering constitutes one of the most important pro-social activities. Following Adam
Smith, helping others is the way to higher individual well-being. This view contrasts with the
selfish utility maximizer who avoids costs from helping others. The two rival views are studied
empirically. We find robust evidence that volunteers are more satisfied with their life than
non-volunteers. Causality is addressed taking advantage of a natural experiment: the
collapse of East Germany and its infrastructure of volunteering. People who accidentally lost
their opportunities for volunteering are compared to people who experienced no change in
their volunteer status.
        KW  - subjective well-being
KW  - volunteering
KW  - pro-social behavior
KW  - happiness
        ER  -