The impact of timebanking on volunteering behaviors

Global declines in formal volunteering have prompted interest in alternative mechanisms like timebanking. This study investigates the impact of timebanking on future volunteering intentions using a between-subjects randomized survey experiment (n= 361) in Shanghai, China. Participants exposed to a timebanking vignette were nearly three times more likely to express high-frequency volunteering intentions than the control group. This positive effect was most pronounced among frequent volunteers with strong intrinsic satisfaction, but attenuated among self-interested respondents. These findings suggest that institutionalized, non-monetary incentives can increase willingness to participate without undermining intrinsic motivation.