A few countries have sought to do so by mandating it. But this “subbotnik” approach risks turning a social opportunity into a statutory obligation. One way of shaping social behaviour is to catch volunteers when they are young. Once volunteering is a habit, it might last a lifetime. 37 The US has experience of such programmes. 33  Meier and Stuzer (2004). 34  See https://www.gov.uk/government/news/next-steps-in-turning-the-civil-service-into-a-civic-service  35  For further details see http://www.volunteering.org.uk/who-we-can-help/employers. 36  CSV, “Employee Volunteering: Who is benefitting now?” (2013). See http://www.volunteering.org.uk/who-wecan-help/volunteer-involving-organisations/employer-supported-volunteering/the-business-case-for-esv  37  Halpern (2004), Putnam (2000)  BIS central bankers’ speeches  13  Their Peace Corps have a larger, but less well-known, domestic counterpart – AmeriCorps. AmeriCorps provides members with full or part time positions in non-profit community organisations and public agencies. Not only do volunteers learn valuable life skills, such as teamwork and leadership, but the scheme also makes contributions to the costs of their education. Since its introduction in 1993, AmeriCorps has had 900,000 volunteers enter its programme, with over 75,000 participating in 2012 alone. Here in the UK, the National Citizen Service (NCS) was introduced in 2011. It recently passed the milestone of 100,000 young people having taken part. This scheme runs outside term time for 15–17 year olds and combines opportunities to take part in adventure activities with social action projects. The evidence so far suggests this scheme, as well as being enjoyable, increases the chances of participants subsequently volunteering. 38 It is possible to imagine ways of building on that success.
•  The final issue, outlined on the fourth row of Figure 10, is about comparing volunteers with paid workers. In carrying out the same activity as a paid employee, volunteers may be more enthusiastic, but also less capable. I am more enthusiastic about painting a shed than my local decorator, but also less competent. So it is not altogether clear whether the wages of paid workers are good proxies for volunteering value or not, with uncertainties on both sides. The final row in Figure 10 offers estimates of the overall contribution of volunteering to the UK economy. It suggests this could exceed £ billion per year, or around 3.5% of annual UK GDP. This would place the volunteering sector on a level pegging with the UK energy sector (both extraction and utilities). Very few sectors add more value. Clearly, the inner layer of the volunteering onion – economic value – is a very significant one. 11  These new estimates can be found at http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/about-ons/business-transparency/freedomof-information/what-can-i-request/published-ad-hoc-data/econ/august-2014/hhsa-consistent-estimates-of-thevalue-of-informal-voluntary-activity-in-2012-13.xls. 12  This calculation uses the following industries: professional and support services; distribution, transport, hotels and restaurants; government, health and education; and other services. The calculation also includes an adjustment for “mixed income” – that is, the income of the self-employed that is classified separately in the national accounts but which arguably reflects a return to labour rather than capital. 6  BIS central bankers’ speeches  Private value of volunteering The second layer of the onion is the private benefit from volunteering.