Simon Bridge brings together all of the debates surrounding the social economy, the third sector and social capital. This text surveys the sector's landscape of voluntary organizations, charities, enterprise agencies and cultural groups, examining them relative to the public and private sectors.

Understanding the Social Economy and the Third Sector fills a significant gap by bringing together a comprehensive range of topics in one resource. Students will gain a working knowledge of the social economy and social capital, illustrated by comparison with the private and public sectors and real-world examples.

The second edition of Understanding the Social Economy expands upon the authors' ground-breaking examination of organizations founded upon a social mission - social enterprises, non-profits, co-operatives, credit unions, and community development associations.

Providing new insight into an important community development challenge, this text looks at how to stimulate the formation of community-based organizations and effective citizen action in neighbourhoods.

This work details various methods of gauging social capital and provides illustrative case studies from Mali and India. It also offers a measuring instrument, the Social Capital Assessment Tool, that combines quantitative and qualitative approaches.

The concepts of social enterprise and social entrepreneurship are rapidly attracting increased attention in academic spheres and from policy-makers, as well as field workers who are setting up new initiatives or reshaping their organizations. These concepts are perceived as defining innovative and dynamic responses to major global challenges in today’s societies. The debate about social enterprise is now world-wide, with lively exchanges between American and European scholars. However, the research and landscapes still differ significantly in different regions, and diversity also exists within specific regions such as Europe. This book presents the most comprehensive set of contributions reflecting the European-wide debate, but with frequent connections to developments in other parts of the world. This book is a result of work carried out by members of the EMES International Research Network, which is a pioneer in this field. Social Enterprise and the Third Sector will appeal to all researchers who focus on the third sector, social economy and social enterprise, to MBA and postgraduate students, as well as to intellectual social enterprise leaders and practitioners. It will soon become a key reference for all those who want to explore the full richness of these concepts and follow this important academic debate.

Social economy -- also known as "non-profit" or "third sector" -- organizations have grown in number and relevance, contributing to employment, social inclusion, democratic participation and community building. Much remains to be done, however, to create the necessary enabling environment to support their creation and development and to mainstream the sector in economic and social policies. This publication offers new insights into the economic theory of social economy organizations, their role in an evolving political and economic context, and the links to local development and the empowerment of users. Building on theoretical and empirical developments in OECD member countries, the publication also presents the main challenges for the social economy in Central East and South East Europe. Recommendations for action are included.--Publisher's description.

Previously the role of social capital - defined as the institutions and networks of relationships between people, and the associated norms and values - in programs of poverty alleviation and development has risen to considerable prominence. Although development practitioners have long suspected that social capital does affect the efficiency and quality of most development processes, this book provides the rigorous empirical results needed to confirm that impression and translate it into effective and informed policymaking. It is based on a large volume of collected data, relying equally on quantitative and qualitative research methodologies to establish approaches for measuring social capital and its impact. The book documents the pervasive role of social capital in accelerating poverty alleviation and rural development, facilitating the provision of goods and services, and easing political transition and recovery from civil conflicts.

This book shows the important links between social conditions and health and begins to describe the processes through which these health inequalities may be generated. It reviews a range of methodologies that could be used by health researchers in this field and proposes innovative future research directions.

This book investigates the remarkable growth of the 'third sector', focusing on social enterprises, their characteristics, their contribution and their future prospects.