Social Economy includes organisations such as cooperatives, charities and non-governmental organisations. Social economy encompasses a wide range of community, voluntary and not-for-profit activities. Social economy lies between the private sector and business, the public sector and government. Social economy has a valuable role to play in helping create a sustainable and inclusive society. At any given time organisations may be moving within the various sub-sectors of the social economy. Economic Sociology is one of the most progressive fields of sociology today. Social economy in France represents 12% of employment and 12% of GDP. Social economy in Spain represents 18% of employment and 14% of GDP. The term social economy comes from the French économie sociale. Social economy is taken to comprise four families of organisations: co-operatives, mutuals, associations and foundations.
The Association for Social Economics -
socialeconomics.org
The Association for Social Economics was established in December 1941 in Washington, DC.
Its members seek to explore
the ethical foundations and implications of economic analysis, along with the individual
and social dimensions of economic problems, and to help shape economic policy that is
consistent with the integral values of the person and a humane community.
International Journal of Social Economics aims to provide its readers with a unique forum for the exchange and sharing of information in this complex area of economics. The journal will present the social-economic problems, as expressed by economists, philosophers, political scientists, historians and business academics, with their consequent ethical considerations. The International Journal of Social Economics' specific coverage analyses the complex socio-economic factors at work and the work of key thinkers in socio-economics.
Social Economy Partnerships and the
Public/Private Cleavages
Joxerramon Bengoetxea, Universidad del País Vasco; Oñati International Institute for the
Sociology of Law. June 13, 2012. - Oñati Socio-Legal Series, Vol. 2, No. 4, 2012.
The social economy: Unlocking value and
productivity through social technologies
July 2012 - by Michael Chui, James Manyika, Jacques Bughin, Richard Dobbs, Charles
Roxburgh, Hugo Sarrazin, Geoffrey Sands and Magdalena Westergren.
SOCIAL ECONOMY: CONCEPTS AND CHALLENGES
- Nancy Neamtan
Abstract: Social economy refers to a wide variety of enterprises and organizations that
produce goods and services with the expressed goal of maximizing social, environmental or
cultural impact. Social economy is emerging as an integrated system of social innovation. Nancy Neamtan discusses
the emergence of the social economy in many countries in Europe, North America, Latin
America and Africa.
Social economy should be considered an important part of an
economic recovery strategy. In order for social economy to contribute to sustainable
development, its existence should be formally recognized as an essential component of a
pluralist economy and the manifestation of new relationships among the market, the public
sector and civil society. Innovation in governance, adaptation of
investment tools to the characteristics of the social economy and more research about the
dynamics of the emerging experiences of social economy are considered key challenges for
the future.
Situating the eco-social economy: conservation initiatives and environmental organizations as catalysts for social and economic development - Author Nathan James Bennett is a PhD candidate, SSHRC and Trudeau Scholar, Department of Geography, University of Victoria. Abstract: The social economy is a third sector of the economy. Theories and definitions of the social economy rarely include reference to environmental and conservation-focused activities or outcomes. This paper empirically situates the concept of an eco-social economy within the context of a community conservation initiative. This paper envisages a social economy that incorporates environmental organizations and conservation initiatives and movements and that makes explicit a distinct eco-social economy.
Defining the Social Economy and its Governance at
the Neighbourhood Level: A Methodological Reflection
Frank Moulaert, Global Urban Research Unit, University of Newcastle.
Jacques Nussbaumer, CLERSE-IFRESI-CNRS, 2 rue des Canonniers. Abstract: This largely methodological paper focuses on how to define the social economy
and its governance at the local and especially the urban neighbourhood level. The
third section elaborates on the analytical elements required for defining the social
economy from a holistic perspective, stressing the role of essentialist abstract
categories, the role of local culture and articulation between spatial scales. We show how
the notion of social capital defined through a 'holistic approach' can enrich the
definition of the social economy. The fourth section concludes the paper by
enhancing the necessary dialogue between an abstract-essentialist and a contextualised
holistic definition of the social economy at the neighbourhood level.
Social Economy, Third Sector and Solidarity
Relations: A Conceptual Synthesis from History to Present
Frank Moulaert, Global Urban Research Unit (GURU), University of Newcastle.
Oana Ailenei, Economie Industrielle, University of Lille I, France. Abstract: This paper attempts to provide a clear perspective on defining the social
economy today. It surveys both
historical and contemporary academic literature, as well as practice-rooted
conceptualisations of the social economy. The first section outlines the analytical
challenges to a reconstruction of the social economy concept. The second enhances the
historical and space-bound diversity in theorising and institutionalising social economy
practices. Section 3 focuses on contemporary reconceptualisations of the social economy in
Francophone and Anglo-Saxon literature, while section 4 then suggests improvements to
current 'social economy' concepts, by linking them to both the lessons of history and the
views of social economy practitioners today.
Linkages between Social Economy and Poverty Alleviation in Cameroon - Alain A. Ndedi Yenepad ISTG-AC - July 6, 2013. Abstract: The social economy refers to those enterprises and organizations which use the tools and some of the methods of profit business, on a not-for-profit basis, to provide social and economic services to communities that need them. Social economy enterprises exhibit distinctive forms of organisation and governance such as worker co-operatives, associations and non-profit organisations. In Cameroon, traditional social economy policies were engaged in numerous activities that respond to people confronting poverty, or community challenges. Social economy policies are not contributing enough in poverty reduction in a country where, up to eighty per cent of its citizen are in the informal sector. This paper is an attempt to develop a framework that can be used to achieve the noble goal of reducing the number of poor people specially those living in rural areas through social economy projects.