The social economy is an important driver of economic growth, social cohesion and community resilience across Europe, the OECD and beyond. Within the European Union, it comprises over 4.3 million entities, playing an important role in job creation, employing approximately 11.5 million people or 6.3% of the workforce.
Social economy entities are also at the forefront of developing innovative solutions to pressing challenges such as demographic change, digital transitions and environmental sustainability. They are active in sectors throughout the economy, from agriculture, banking and housing to health, care and education, as well as renewable energy and the circular economy. They contribute to our democracies and societies through participatory governance and empowering people. Using a citizen-led and locally based approach, social economy entities help strengthen territorial cohesion across cities, rural areas and border regions. They also contribute to sustainable competitiveness by pioneering innovations in both economic and social spaces and by advancing the creation of quality jobs. Their role, which has proven essential to keep services running during crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, highlights their importance for communities and governments alike.
Building on the longstanding work by the OECD and the European Commission, both institutions have issued high-level guidance to leverage the full potential of the social economy. The European Union adopted the 2021 Action Plan on the Social Economy and the 2023 Council Recommendation on developing supportive framework conditions. These frameworks align with the 2022 OECD Recommendation on the Social and Solidarity Economy and Social Innovation. Together, they provide a set of shared objectives and guidance that are helping countries, regions, and cities to strengthen policy frameworks and scale innovative practices to unlock the social economy’s potential to deliver quality services, generate employment, and promote inclusive and sustainable development.
This joint OECD-EC report, Social Economy in Europe: Contributing to Competitiveness and Prosperity, offers strategies and tools to accelerate implementation of recent high-level guidance. It highlights the pathways and contributions of social economy entities to meet key policy priorities, looking in particular at care services and affordable housing. The report also analyses three fundamental framework conditions that underpin the success of social economy actions, notably, institutional arrangements across different levels of government, fiscal measures and business support approaches.
By presenting practical examples, lessons learned and action-oriented recommendations, the report provides public authorities, social economy entities and other stakeholders with evidence and insight to help build enabling environments where social economy entities can innovate, expand and drive positive change.
