ABSTRACT
Sociologists have been preoccupied with understanding the socioeconomic determinants of volunteer participation. Resource theorists assume that individuals with greater resources tend to be productive volunteers. They assert that “the desire to do good is more or less evenly distributed, but that the resources to fulfil that desire are not”. Human capital has thus been considered a principal factor in civic participation. The effect of residential stability on citizen participation also has been examined. People living in areas with high ownership rates are more likely to participate in civic activities in churches and communities. In Japan, no study has additionally considered cross-level interactions: namely, interactive effects of factors at both individual and community level. In recent years, international studies have shown that the effect of education on citizen participation depends on the national educational level.
