Thesis

Changes in employment-related time use and activity in voluntary assocations -PhD thesis-

Authors

Publication date

2009

Abstract

This thesis engages in the contemporary debate on the benefits of social networks and contributes to the empirical search for factors affecting individuals’ involvement in these networks. In particular, this study focuses on activity in voluntary associations, which is an important indicator of social capital, civic engagement, social participation, and the extent of the non-profit sector.
This thesis fills in the gap in the literature regarding the relationships between employment and employed individuals’ involvement in voluntary associations. The main research question addressed is, ‘Are changes in employment conditions (and in employment-related time use in particular) related to changes in individuals’ activity in voluntary associations’? Using longitudinal data analysis of the data from the pooled sample of 39,717 employed and self-employed individuals in the British Household Panel Survey for the period from 1993 to 2005, this thesis concludes that changes in employment-rated time use are related to changes in individuals’ activity in voluntary associations, but that these relationships vary by the type of voluntary association and depend on whether an individual is or is not already involved in voluntary associations. These results partially support the resources model proposed in this thesis, which maintains that employment either drains or provides the resources (for example, time, energy, skills) necessary for involvement in voluntary association.

Subjects

Time Use, Citizenship, Labour Market, and Social Capital

Notes

Index to Theses search; not held in Res Lib - bibliographic reference only

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