What is Social Economy?

Introduction

The 21st century is all about the integration of disciplines. Not long ago, the usage of words social and economy in the same sentence was deemed absurd. Now, socioeconomics is a key area of research, and every day, we hear about astounding theories being put forward. A key concept in this discipline is that of social economy. The term social economy isn’t popularly used or we can say that it is not a part of our everyday conversations. But you will be startled to know that we all are living in a system that follows a lot of principles of social economy. What are those principles and guidelines? How does social economy impact us? These and many other questions are answered in detail in today’s discussion, give it your fullest attention!

Social economy definition

Baby steps first, what is the social economy? Defining the term right at the beginning will save us from a lot of ambiguity. The social economy is a branch of economics that specializes in the evaluation of interactions between society and economics. No genius, you must be saying. But what does it mean? Well, when the social economy is referred to, we are more interested in determining how our social traditions and sentiments influence the behavior of probable consumers. This then eventually transforms into the popular buying trends which we and you, both are a victim of!

Different types of social economy

At this point in the discussion, it would be prudent to mention the different types of social economies as well. Well, types or forms wouldn’t be the exact word that we want to use. Rather, different economic sectors are a constant feature of the social economy. Well, there is the primary sector that is concerned with the production of raw materials. Then there is the secondary sector which is concerned with manufacturing, the tertiary sector is related to services. Services can be of either informative nature or related to human resources and facilities. We know that sounded pretty ambiguous but it is what it is!

Does social economy include non-profits services?

If the previous section was a bit ambiguous to you, we are sure your queries will be solved in this section. What do you think are the elements of it? Well, there are social assets, enterprises, financial unions, skill learning centers, and of course, the non-profit groups. So, yes, it does include non-profit services. These nonprofits have a key role to play when it comes to the integration of society as one unit. The facilities and the services provided by non-profits cannot be taken lightly, even in the context of this discussion.

Impact

Its impact is basically what that dictates our lifestyles and choices. It is ridiculous to assume that one isn’t bound by the limitations of his or her class. The sky is the limit but the journey isn’t an easier one if you don’t have the right sort of kick-off. Individuals belonging to the upper social class can easily afford what the members of the lower class cannot. So, from that point of view, the impact of the social economy is a big one.

Don’t confuse these two!

Festival economy and social economy are somewhat interlinked but by no means are these two terms the same. Indeed, the concept of the festival economy isn’t an abstract one. Festivals all across the world generate revenue in billions. When we use the word festival, we include small-town festivals that are a part of local culture. Then, there are festive times like Eid, Christmas. Again, the social economy would pretty much dictate the dynamics of the festival economy but let us not get into the perplexing details. A fine example to quote here would be the Ramadan economy. A religious event that has linked with it, the business, and hopes of many!

Conclusion

Well, that will be all for now. Any subheading under the title of economics cannot be covered in such a short space and time. This is an extensive topic that has a lot of angles, all of which were impossible to cover in this limited space and time. Nevertheless, if you are a novice, your knowledge of the topic must have improved considerably by now, and that is a start!

What is Social Economy?