Volunteering at the extensive margin: intrinsic or extrinsic motive?

This paper identifies the nature of the predominant motive (consumption versus investment) moving people to offer labour for free by considering the major beneficiary sectors involved. Using basic consumption and investment models, some hy-potheses are derived and tested to identify the salient motivation for volunteering in each sector. The analysis results in two main findings: (a) in peace movements and in women's groups and associations, volunteers seem to be mainly intrinsically motivated and (b) in sectors concerned with social welfare for the elderly people or in religious and health organizations, the key motivation for volunteering is investment (extrinsic returns).