The aim of this chapter is to measure the potential for volunteering and to analyze and understand the determinants of participation in volunteering. The data comes from a survey of students enrolled at two open-access institutions of the Cadi Ayyad University in Morocco. Using Tobit model, which combines both continuous and discrete variables, the results show a high potential supply of volunteering compared to the supply actually realized and a high potential supply of female students compared to that of male students. The potential volunteering supply comes much more from students from a low socioeconomic status as measured by the level of education of the parents. Student members of associations are predisposed to perform voluntary tasks, and this offer increases with seniority in the association. Age is positively correlated with the potential supply of volunteering. The motivational framework can strengthen the potential supply of volunteering.
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Volunteering is an unpaid activity or service for the benefit of society other than parents and members of the same household (International Labour Organisation (ILO), 2021). The benefits of volunteering are identified at two complementary levels: at the level of the well-being of society and the level of the well-being of the person himself (Plagnol and Huppert (2010), Stukas et al., (2016)). In relation to societal aspects, volunteering contributes to the increase of social solidarity and the creation of wealth (Stukas et al., 2016)). Participation in voluntary activities could have positive effects on young people themselves. Indeed, volunteering allows the acquisition of a number of skills that can be transferred to the workplace. It strengthens team spirit (Schiff, 1990), raises awareness of responsibility (Andreoni 1990; Degli Antoni 2009), facilitates communication, has a positive impact on earnings (Mantovan et al., 2020), expands the network of the individual (Lin et al. 1998; Musick and Wilson 2003) while increasing the likelihood of their employability (Prouteau and Wolff, 2006) and breaking monotony (Cook and Burchell, 2018).
At the psychological level, being a volunteer helps to protect psychological health through mental simulation (Piliavin and Siegel, 2007; Choi and Boham, 2007) contributes to stress reduction (Kim and Pai 2010), and combats depression (Krause, 1987; Yeung et al., 2018). In addition to that, Fiorillo and Nappo (2020) argue that volunteering can encourage a state of emotional trust. According to these authors, volunteers are seen as altruists by others and gain social recognition.
Although volunteering is practiced by several socio-professional categories, the participation of young people in volunteering activities gives rise to wide debate (Vaillancourt, 1994; ILO, 2011). These two works show that individuals become more and more inclined to volunteer with age.
Compared to the Moroccan text, the country can derive benefits through the involvement of young people in volunteer activities. Two factors will favor this opportunity. First, on the demand side, we are witnessing a spectacular development of the Moroccan associative fabric. Indeed, through its proximity to citizens and its concern to meet the needs of the vulnerable population, the associative world has become an essential component of the economic and social life of the country. Statistical data concerning associations in Morocco are limited. They are neither always published nor regularly updated (CSEFRS, 2017). According to the High Commission for Planning (2011), the number of associations was estimated at almost 45000 in 2007. Recent data suggests that their number is 130000 in 2015 (CSEF, 2017). This rapid expansion is explained by the political openness of the early 1990s and the launch of the National Initiative for Human Development (INDH) in 2005.