Moving Beyond the Public-Private Divide: Locating Social Entrepreneurship in the Social Economy

In the face of the neoliberal development agenda, the delivery of public services has, to varying degrees in different countries, been assumed by non-state actors. This has led to a continuous debate about the efficiency of services furnished either by the state or non-state actors. Social enterprises have emerged in recent decades as a new actor striving not only to satisfy service provision, but also to simultaneously achieve a social mission and financial goals. While there is confusion regarding the definition and forms that those social enterprises can take, this think piece will reflect on the public-private divide and the role of social enterprises in the delivery of public services, with particular attention to their role in the social economy. It will suggest that one of the greatest potentials of social enterprises may be the possibility of co-constructing social policy through partnerships and alliances across the public-private divide.

Unrisd website www.unrisd.org/en/library/blog-posts/moving-beyond-the-public-private-divide-locating-social-entrepreneurship-in-the-social-economy