and potentially higher. • they create private value for individual volunteers of maybe as much again. • and although the confidence intervals are large, it would not be unreasonable to apply a social multiplier of upwards of two to these estimates. however you cut this onion, it is clear that the value it creates is eye - watering. and this is value, let ’ s remember, much of which is not captured or visible from official statistics. this is a largely invisible onion. now, it is fair to say that i have not much discussed any costs of volunteering. plainly, no activity is costless, both in a direct and opportunity cost sense. but the evidence here, however imperfect, suggests some significant benefit multipliers from volunteering, economically, privately and socially. given that, could this value be leveraged by changes, large or small, public or private? there are already a number of organisations who support volunteering. for example, volunteering england is a uk - based independent charity providing a range of services to assist employers and potential volunteers take part in volunteering activities. the national council for voluntary organisations ( ncvo ), which recently merged with volunteering england, champions volunteering activity, from practical how - to guides to video training courses to bespoke advice. 30 one of their members, the institute for volunteering research ( ivr ), provides a range of tools to help employers understand the costs associated with setting up volunteering schemes. let me offer just a few reflections of my own on other possible avenues. the fact that a sector is creating societal value does not, by itself, imply the need for public policy intervention. nonetheless, there may be policy “ nudges ” which might lower frictions, or sharpen incentives, in ways which could enhance the value already being created. increasing visibility the key theme of this lecture is that the value created by volunteering is rarely wellmeasured or well - understood, especially when it comes to the wider social benefits. there is an information gap. this gap puts grit in all components of the volunteering machine, in ways which potentially inhibit its scale and effectiveness. take volunteers themselves. individuals ’ behavioural biases lead them systematically to under - estimate the private benefits from philanthropy and volunteering. and state - of - the - art econometrics suggests these benefits may be substantial, the monetary equivalent of more than a month ’ s work for the average person. for further details see http : /

/ who - wecan - help / volunteer - involving - organisations / employer - supported - volunteering / the - business - case - for - esv halpern ( 2004 ), putnam bis central bankers ’ speeches 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. for example, the ncs programme only covers holiday periods and participants pay a small fee to participate. by contrast, the americorps programme lasts for up to a year and participants are offered financial support towards educational costs. this has meant americorps has not only encouraged volunteering ; it has also provided incentives for generations of americans, especially from poorer backgrounds, to stay on in higher education. this small financial nudge has thus potentially delivered lifelong returns. more generally, the uk already encourages giving money by allowing charities to reclaim tax on donations through “ gift aid ”. is there a case for providing tax - based incentives for people who instead volunteer time? the idea is not without precedent. in 2008, the canadian parliament debated a bill that proposed taxpayers who volunteer at least 250 hours be issued a tax credit up to $ 1, 000. 39 it was rejected. but since 2011, canadian firefighters, most of whom are volunteers, have received a tax credit of $ 3, 000 if they complete over 200 hours of volunteering a year. such a policy may sound ambitious, certainly administratively, as it would require auditable records of volunteer hours worked. but it is not impossible to conceive of a system of individual volunteering accounts ( ivas ) for people engaged in formal volunteer