The Weight of the Social Economy

Throughout the world, cooperatives, non-profit and mutual benefit organizations, foundations, and other social enterprises play an important role in job creation, social cohesion, innovation and regional development. The book explains why it is important to have statistics on the social economy and to project how we might better understand it.

What is the weight of the social economy? How should we measure it? Throughout the world, cooperatives, non-profit and mutual benefit organizations, foundations and other social enterprises play an important role in job creation, social cohesion, social innovation, regional development and environmental protection. Observations tend to confirm the ability of the social economy to contribute to balancing economies, mainly by serving as an anti-cyclical force in the face of economic crises. However, many countries and regions lack statistical information about its weight, size and scope on their territory. This book fills a gap in the literature about the social economy. It seeks to explain why it is important to have statistics on it, to understand how they are produced, and to project how the social economy might be better understood in the future. The book offers researchers and decision-makers an overview of the current state of knowledge on these topics. This book is the result of the International Ciriec working group on "The Weight and Size of the Social Economy International Perspectives for the Production of Statistics for the Social Economy" developed by the CIRIEC International Scientific Commission "Social and Cooperative Economy": http://www.ciriec.uliege.be/en/research/commission-es/themes-en-cours/theme-de-recherche-1/

Autorentext

CIRIEC (International Centre of Research and Information on the Public, Social and Cooperative Economy) is a non-governmental international scientific organization. Its objectives are to undertake and promote the collection of information, scientific research, and the publication of works on economic sectors and activities oriented towards the service of the general and collective interest. Marie J. Bouchard is Professor at Université du Québec à Montréal (Canada), Director of the Collective Enterprise Axis at Centre de recherche sur les innovations sociales (CRISES). She published in this series The Worth of the Social Economy. An International Perspective (P.I.E. Peter Lang, 2009). Damien Rousselière is Professor of economics at AGROCAMPUS OUEST (France) and visiting professor at Université du Québec à Montréal. He is also an external consultant for the Environment Directorate of the OECD and serves on the scientific council of Coop de France (French federation of agricultural cooperatives).

Zusammenfassung
«Undoubtedly, The Weight of the Social Economy adds to the knowledge base on the social economy by explaining why it is important to have reliable and comparable statistics, and suggesting areas for potential future research.»
(Don Embuldeniya, Voluntas 27/2016)

Inhalt

Contents: Marie J. Bouchard/Damien Rousselière: Introduction. The Weight, Size and Scope of the Social Economy - José Luis Monzón: The Pioneer Work of CIRIEC-España - Amélie Artis/Marie J. Bouchard/Damien Rousselière: Does the Social Economy Count? How Should We Measure It? Representations of the Social Economy through Statistical Indicators - Marie J. Bouchard/Paulo Cruz Filho/Martin St-Denis: Mapping the Field of the Social Economy. Identifying Social Economy Entities - Édith Archambault: Organizing the Field of the Social Economy. The Social Economy and Its Classification Within Systems of National Accounts - Lester M. Salamon/S. Wojciech Sokolowski/Megan A. Haddock: International Comparisons. Lessons from the Measurement of the Nonprofit Component - Sybille Mertens/Michel Marée: So, What Does a Social Economy Enterprise Produce? - Danièle Demoustier/Élisa Braley/Thomas Guérin/Daniel Rault: The Construction of Social and Solidarity Economy Statistics in France. A Progressive Mobilization of Very Diverse Actors - Fabienne Fecher/Wafa Ben Sedrine Lejeune: The Production of Statistics for the Social Economy in Belgium. A Focus on Mutuals and Cooperatives - Luiz Inácio Gaiger: Collaborative Research Between Civil Society, State and the Academia. Lessons from the Brazilian Mapping of the Solidarity Economy - Akira Kurimoto: To Estimate the Scope and Size of the Social Economy in Japan. Challenges for Producing Comprehensive Statistics - Nicoleta Uzea/Fiona Duguid: Challenges in Conducting a Study on the Economic Impact of Co-operatives - Roger Spear: Mapping Social Enterprise in the UK. Definitions, Typologies and Hybrids - Marie J. Bouchard/Damien Rousselière: Conclusion. A Research Agenda for Statistics on the Social Economy.