Canada The definition of Social Economy used by the Chantier de l'économie sociale in Quebec follows: The Social Economy is made up of association-based economic activities founded on values of: • Service to members or the community rather than only generating profits and seeking financial returns; • Autonomous management (not government controlled); • Democratic decision making; • Primacy of persons and work over capital; • Based on principles of participation, empowerment and individual and collective responsibility. The Social Economy includes: • social assets (housing, childcare centres, etc.) of community organizations; • social enterprises including co- operatives and revenue-generating programs of non profit groups; • credit unions and social financing organizations like community loan funds; • training and skills development enterprises; and • sectoral and regional organizations e.g. renewal energy associations. The Canadian Community Economic Development Network (CCEDNet) is a national member-led organization committed to strengthening Canadian communities by creating economic opportunities that enhance social and environmental conditions. The Canadian Social Economy Hub (CSEHub) acted as a facilitator between 2005 and 2011, promoting collaboration among six regional research centres across Canada (Québec, Atlantic, Southern Ontario, Prairies and Northern Ontario, BC and Alberta and the North), and creating opportunities and exchanges with international networks. The Canadian Social Economy Research Partnerships (CSERP) was established in 2005 through a five-year Social Sciences and Humanities Research grant. Over 300 researchers, drawn from universities and Social Economy organisations, have created over 400 products including e-books, occasional papers and paper series.
France The term "social economy" derives from the French
économie sociale, first recorded about 1900. The sector comprises four families of organisations:
cooperatives, mutuals, associations (voluntary organisations) and foundations (which, in France, must be of "public utility"). The social economy is a major sector, representing 10,3 percent of employment.
Spain The first Law of Social Economy in Europe was approved in Spain in early 2011. By 2013, the social economy in Spain represented 12% of the
Gross Domestic Product, with more than 44,500 businesses, more than 2,215,000 employees, impacting more than 16,528,000 associated people, and producing €150.978 million in gross sales. Consequently, the concept of
economía social is firmly embedded in the country's academic, political and economic institutions. The process of national political integration of the social economy in Spain started in 1990 with the creation of the National Institute for the Promotion of Social Economy (Instituto Nacional de Fomento de la Economía Social—INFES) through Law 31/1990 by Spain's Parliament on 27 December of that year. The INFES replaced the former Directorate General of Cooperatives and Worker-Owned Companies (Dirección General de Cooperativas y Sociedades Laborales) of the Spanish Ministry of Labour and Social Security. Among its purposes was the promotion of social economy organisations and, for that reason, it created the Institute from among its members. When the INFES ceased operating in the year 1997, its tasks were assumed by the General Directorate for the Promotion of Social Economy (Dirección General del Fomento de la Economía Social) and the European Social Fund. Law 27/1999 on Cooperatives, of 16 July 1999, incorporated the Council for the Promotion of the Social Economy as the advisory and consultative body for activities related to the social economy, and its regulations were implemented by Royal Decree 219/2001, of 2 March, to authorize the organization and operation of the Council. Thus, this Council is set up as the institution that provides visibility to the various organizations in the social economy. Furthermore, and due to the decentralization of powers that characterizes Spain's territorial system, there are different substantive rules regarding the various entities in the social economy whose regulation falls within the scope of the regional governments, giving rise to the existence of similar institutions within each autonomous community of industry participants. The different forms of cooperatives and, among them, the ones of associated workers, consumers, housing, agricultural, services, seafarers, credit, education, health, insurance and transport cooperatives, worker-owned societies and associations, foundations and mutual societies, insertion companies, special employment centers, agricultural processing companies and fishermen's associations share the guiding principles of the social economy. All these organizations are covered, directly or indirectly, by the aforementioned articles of the Spanish Constitution. Their principles confer on them a distinct and specific character with regard to other types of commercial companies and organizations in Spain. Each year, the organization collects data and publishes several reports on the state of the social economy sector in both Spain and the Mediterranean. Comparative data of the Spanish social economy relative to similar sectors in other parts of the world are also reported.
Latin America In Spanish-speaking Latin-American countries (such as Argentina, Venezuela and Cuba) the concept of
economía social is accepted. The government of
Hugo Chávez believed that the informal sector could be absorbed into the social economy of Venezuela by strictly controlling (or nationalising) large firms and creating new forms of private enterprise which were more accessible to the poor. Wage labour was seen as a source of exploitation, and the government hoped to reduce (or eliminate) it by promoting corporate governance, family and cooperative businesses and restricting labour contracts. The government planned to provide technology, training, finance and exclusive contracts to small enterprises so that they could survive in the national marketplace.
European Union At the European level, the French concept predominates. In 1989, the
Delors Commission established a Social Economy Unit to coordinate the movement at the European level; however, official texts adopted the term "Co-operatives, Mutuals, Associations and Foundations" (CMAFs). Social economy was one of the nine themes of the €3 billion
EQUAL Community Initiative (2002-2008). The European
Economic and Social Committee has published a study drawn up by CIRIEC (International Centre of Research and Information on the Public, Social and Cooperative Economy) on the social economy in the European Union, available in the 23 official languages of the Union. A more recent study was carried out in 2017 focused on the emerging new concepts related to Social Economy and on the new public policies related to social economy. The European Parliament established a Social Economy Intergroup (SEIG), integrating MEPs from 5 political groups and from 6 countries. Social Economy represents 2 million enterprises, including mutuals and
cooperatives and employs over 14 million paid employees in the European Union. In Ireland, the social economy is well-funded; an example is rural transport schemes to assist the socially disadvantaged in isolated locations.
United Kingdom In the UK, the
social enterprise movement is where the discussions of much of the social economy are centred, with a Social Economy Alliance created to support an ecosystem of social impact-focused businesses and charities. It is also a phrase used by
the Labour Party to describe the economy surrounding social enterprises in the UK. Until September 2021 there was a
Minister for Civil Society, who was expressly responsible for
social enterprise and
social investment. Under the
second Johnson ministry the role was merged with other responsibilities, now held by a lower-ranking minister.
New Zealand In New Zealand, there is an
Office for the Community & Voluntary Sector; however, a research programme is in progress as the Study of the NZ Non-Profit Sector.
United States In the United States, rapid social change has led to shifts in both purpose and organizational forms of actors within the social economy. A diverse array of organizations, companies, constitute the social economy, including for-profit businesses, 501(c)(3) non-profits, cooperatives, credit unions,
limited liability companies, social enterprises, and
benefit corporations. Those which do not fit neatly into the aforementioned categories may be considered a
hybrid organization. Some scholars define hybrids as organizations that maintain a social mission while pursuing profit, but others define them more specifically as for-profit ventures that operate to generate revenues for a partner nonprofit. Hybrids have primarily existed in sectors such as job training, health care, and microcredit, but have recently expanded to include environmentalism, technology, and even consulting. Organizational differences are acknowledged in the tax codes of several states with entities such as
benefit corporations. The
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) defines sectors differently, depending on the purpose. A sector can be a grouping of institutions, such as government (taxing authority), business (taxable profit-making), philanthropy (untaxed nonprofit), and household (taxable personal income). However, due to increasingly hybridized institutions within the social economy, their categorization may not clearly fit within the social enterprise compass. Designation may depend upon legal and financial structures, as well as the organization's purpose and goals. Policy makers may need to shift legal boundaries to adapt to this dynamic social economy. The rise of the social economy, sometimes referred to as the fourth sector, began in the 1980s. Then-President
Ronald Reagan drastically cut public spending, which significantly decreased the amount of funding non-profits received. Yet, as neoliberal shifts privatized what were previously public services, the non-profit sector became increasingly necessary to provide goods and services. The third sector blossomed; as of 1980, there were just 32,000 tax-exempt charitable organizations registered with the
IRS, but by 2006, that number grew to over 600,000. Continued stagnation in funding throughout the late 1990s despite the growing number of nonprofits meant increased competition for the limited grants available to the third sector. As such, non-profits became increasingly entrepreneurial as a means of survival, giving rise to the social economy or so-called fourth sector. This "fourth sector" differs from the
third sector by its location (in the United States) and its emphasis on business (as opposed to government) leadership. In the contemporary neoliberal socioeconomic and political environment, the United States' market-based mechanisms are emphasized in the social sector, such as within
social entrepreneurship and
venture philanthropy. and cooperatives are working towards inclusive growth, cooperative ideals and cooperative organization are more effective in meeting their people centered objectives. Cooperative provides third highest employment after
private sector and government jobs. Social economy attempts to suitably blend economic feasibility with social reality. The cooperatives in India emphasize on equitable distribution of value amongst stakeholders. ==See also==