Abstract
This article examines the relationship between organisation-based volunteering and income inequality in Italian NUTS-2 regions. We propose a conceptual framework that argues how volunteering, by fostering the accumulation of human and social capital, can expand opportunities for citizens and thereby promote greater equality of opportunity, which is a foundational requirement towards more equality in income distribution. To test this framework, we conduct an empirical analysis on a panel of 21 Italian NUTS-2 regions over the period 2010–2020. The results of this analysis provide robust evidence confirming the hypothesis of the work. This emphasises the need to design regional welfare policies in which organised civil society works with public institutions and the business community to produce the goods and services that are essential to support people’s empowerment, with a view to ensuring more equitable and inclusive paths of regional development.
JEL classification: I31; O15; D64; J24; L31.