Publications / Articles / 2010 / 2010:019 Voluntary organizations in the Nordic countries [北欧国家的志愿组织]
Voluntary organizations in the Nordic countries [北欧国家的志愿组织]
The Nordic Welfare State [北欧福利国家] : 254-282
Shanghai: Fudan University Press (2010)
Project relation:
Virtual centre for research on civil society and the voluntary...
The voluntary sectors in the Nordic countries have important similarities. In comparative perspective, they play a small role as welfare service providers, but the popular movements have had a significant impact in policy development, advocacy and support. Paid employment is small, volunteering is very large and about half of all voluntary hours are concentrated on the sport and recreation field. However, with paid and voluntary workforce seen together, the voluntary sector is on same size as in other European countries. Several international comparative studies group the Nordic countries in a “social democratic” regime, modeled around the Swedish case, characterized by large public welfare spending that “crowds out” nonprofit organizations (Anheier & Salamon 2006; Salamon & Anheier 1998; Salamon & Sokolowski 2001). This article will question these assumptions by differentiating between voluntary organizations on the welfare field and in other areas, and by putting stronger emphasis on differences among the Nordic countries. The focus will be on size and composition of volunteering, paid employment, funding and role in society.
[Chapter printed in Chinese translation]