Volunteers and volunteering in central and eastern Europe

This paper focuses on volunteering behaviour, as an expression of a participative culture. We are interested in the cultural and social determinants of volunteering, both at individual level, but mainly at the aggregate (country) level. We note that the phenomenon has a lower incidence in the ex- communist countries as compared to the occidental democracies, and try to explain the discrepancies through cultural traditions, globalization and the economic background. We pay special attention to the relation between volunteering and social capital, in Central and Eastern Europe. We use multi-level regression models and the European/ World Values Survey data collected in 1999 - 2000 to provide evidence on a common post-Communist culture which tends to decrease the individuals propensity to volunteer.