Out of the Labor Force, Out of Civic Life: Labor Market Transitions and Civic Participation

• In Event: 500 - Section on Altruism, Morality and Social Solidarity Paper Session. Altruism, Morality, and Social Solidarity

Abstract

This study examines how different types of transitions in labor market status impact the starting and quitting of volunteering and other civic activities. Previous studies have mostly focused on the experience of unemployment, either as a static status or a transition from employment to unemployment, while ignoring other types of transitions on the labor market that could affect civic participation. In large-scale panel data from the Current Population Survey, we find no evidence that being unemployed or transitioning to unemployment negatively affects civic participation. Instead, the transition into and out of the labor force is a much more consequential event than unemployment, a troubling finding in the context of declining labor force participation in the US. We also find that even though having resources such as time and money does not motivate people to be civically engaged, they can facilitate or constrain their involvement when people transition back into the labor force. We conclude by discussing the implications of our findings for future research.

Authors

• Chaeyoon Lim, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Dingeman Wiertz, Oxford University