What Happened to the "Long Civic Generation"? Explaining Cohort Differences in Volunteerism

Abstract

In Bowling Alone Robert Putnam argues that the passing of the long civic generation, whose values were molded by the Depression and the Second World War, has resulted in a decline in civic engagement. In this analysis we test the generation hypothesis by comparing the volunteer behavior of two successive generations of women at the same age. No supportfor Putnam's thesis is found. Once appropriate controls for sociodemographic trends are imposed, generation differences disappear. However, there are cohort differences in the type of volunteer work performed. Each year, volunteer workers contribute billions of dollars in value to the U.S. economy (Boris 1999). Even so, there are rarely enough volunteers to meet the demand, as a glance at any local newspaper will reveal. In light of this shortage of volunteers, any social change that discourages volunteering is worrisome. Two recent changes suggest that balancing supply and demand in the market