Volunteering and Social Capital Robert Putnam's influential theories of social capital uses volunteering as an index of civic participation and argues that the immanent decline of volunteering signals a potential crisis for democracy. This paper by Jennifer Wilkinson and Michael Bittman challenges the assumptions underpinning Putnam's ideas. "Volunteering: The Human Face of Democracy" is published by the Social Policy Research Centre.

By Social Policy Research Centre , Australia.

Voluntary Sector Policy Resource.