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Immigrant Integration Through Volunteering: The Importance of Contextual Factors

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 April 2018

ITAY GREENSPAN Open the ORCID record for ITAY GREENSPAN [Opens in a new window] ,
MARLENE WALK  and
FEMIDA HANDY
ITAY GREENSPAN
Affiliation:
School of Social Work & Social Welfare, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mt. Scopus, Jerusalem, Israel91905 email: itaygree@mail.huji.ac.il
MARLENE WALK
Affiliation:
School of Public & Environmental Affairs, Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States email: mwalk@iupui.edu
FEMIDA HANDY
Affiliation:
School of Social Policy & Practice, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States email: fhandy@sp2.upenn.edu
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Abstract

Volunteering is an under-studied yet potentially beneficial avenue for immigrant integration. Whereas past research has provided important insights into the benefits of immigrant volunteering, it has been frequently based on convenience samples. This paper contributes to the literature on immigrant volunteering on two levels. First, we test less explored questions: the differences between immigrant and native-born volunteers on several volunteer indicators, and the contextual factors (cultural, social, and organisational) associated with immigrants’ proclivity to volunteer. Second, we rely on a representative sample of the German population, and use propensity score matching to strengthen the robustness of our analysis. Findings suggest that, although native-born individuals display higher rates of volunteering than immigrants, they do not significantly differ on most indicators once immigrants become volunteers. Furthermore, time since migration, social networks and organisational membership are significant drivers of immigrant volunteering. Our findings are a signal for policymakers because social policies could better address contextual and organisational barriers.

Type
Article
Information
Journal of Social Policy , Volume 47 , Issue 4 , October 2018 , pp. 803 - 825
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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