Potential and Impediments to Senior Citizens’ Volunteering to Maintain Basic Services in Shrinking Regions

Tobias Mettenberger; Patrick Küpper

doi:10.1111/soru.12254

journal article Jun 17, 2019

Potential and Impediments to Senior Citizens’ Volunteering to Maintain Basic Services in Shrinking Regions

Tobias Mettenberger

Patrick Küpper

Sociologia Ruralis Vol. 59 No. 4 pp. 739-762 · Wiley

View at Publisher Save 10.1111/soru.12254

Abstract

AbstractAgainst the background of demographic change and municipal austerity, policy‐makers are evoking the crucial role that younger retirees could play in supplementing the provision of basic services through volunteering. This article ties into this discussion, critically questioning the potential of (younger) senior citizens’ volunteering as a way of maintaining basic services in shrinking regions. Qualitative interviews from two regional case studies in rural Germany provide insights into the motivations, forms and contexts of such volunteering. The empirical results show that the potential for basic service provision is limited. Key players engaged in multiple activities and more‐passive types of contact‐seekers have little interest in taking on further tasks. Traditional basic services do not fit in with the interests of potential volunteers, and time budgets are constrained by alternative activities and commitments. Furthermore, volunteering is hampered by very basic structural conditions of peripheral rural life. Overall, our results reflect the heterogeneity and diversity of (older) rural milieus and lifestyles, and challenge persistent scientific perceptions of rural and, especially, village populations as place‐based closely knit communities.

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Details

Published: Jun 17, 2019
Vol/Issue: 59(4)
Pages: 739-762
License: View

Authors

T

Tobias Mettenberger

Thünen Institute of Rural Studies Bundesallee 64 38116 Braunschweig Germany

P

Patrick Küpper

Thünen Institute of Rural Studies Bundesallee 64 38116 Braunschweig Germany

Cite This Article

Tobias Mettenberger, Patrick Küpper (2019). Potential and Impediments to Senior Citizens’ Volunteering to Maintain Basic Services in Shrinking Regions. Sociologia Ruralis, 59(4), 739-762. https://doi.org/10.1111/soru.12254

Potential and Impediments to Senior Citizens’ Volunteering to Maintain Basic Services in Shrinking Regions

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