Informal, Unorganized Volunteering

T. G. Nezhina; Einolf C. J.; Prouteau L.; Ibrayeva A.

doi:10.1007/978-1-137-26317-9_10

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May 15, 2026

Preserving Rationality in a Period of Turbulence

The HSE International Laboratory for Logic, Linguistics and Formal Philosophy studies logic and rationality in a transformed world characterised by a diversity of logical systems and rational agents. The laboratory supports and develops academic ties with Russian and international partners. The HSE News Service spoke with the head of the laboratory, Prof. Elena Dragalina-Chernaya, about its work.

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Ilya Venediktov graduated from the Master’s programme at the HSE Tikhonov Moscow Institute of Electronics and Mathematics through the combined Master’s–PhD track and is currently studying at the HSE Doctoral School of Engineering Sciences. At present, he is undertaking a long-term research internship at the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei, where he is preparing his dissertation. In this interview, he explains how an internship differs from an academic mobility programme, discusses his research topic, and describes the daily life of a Russian doctoral student in China.

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Informal, Unorganized Volunteering

Ch. 9. P. 223–241.

Nezhina T. G., Einolf C. J., Prouteau L., Ibrayeva A.

Abstract

Informal volunteering, or helping individuals in a way not coordinated by an organization, is the most common type of human helping behavior but one of the least studied. The psychological motives for informal volunteering are similar to those for formal volunteering, but income and socioeconomic status do not affect informal volunteering. Informal volunteering is common in both wealthy and poor countries, and welfare state service provision does not crowd out informal volunteering. Little is known about the individual and social benefits of informal volunteering, and the state of knowledge is not yet complete enough to inform policy. However, using existing informal helping networks can make development and other projects more effective. Future research should collect better data on informal volunteering, particularly longitudinal and comparative data.

Keywords: Informal volunteering, unorganized volunteering, unpaid work, informal assistance

In book

The Palgrave Handbook of Volunteering, Civic Participation, and Nonprofit Associations

Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016.