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Abstract

The Third Sector of Social Action (TSSA) has gone from occupying a residual institutional position to one of greater centrality within the mixed welfare system in Spain. In the current context of decentralisation of the TSSA, which runs parallel and in a subsidiary manner to that of the Spanish “State of the Autonomies”, there are few comparative studies on the regional dimension of the TSSA. The aim of this text is to analyse the institutional and socio-economic fit of the TSSA in different Spanish regions. This article begins by referring to the recent evolution of the Spanish Third Sector and to its main characteristics, followed by a comparative international and regional analysis of the different European Third Sector “models” and the main trends of change. Finally, it explores the presence of differential economic-institutional, socio-historical and social capital factors by analysing whether there is a general model for the development of the TSSA in Spain versus autonomous regional models. The empirical basis of this study is the carrying out of 48 in-depth interviews and 14 focus groups in seven Spanish Autonomous Communities among experts, managers and representatives of Third Sector organisations in the framework of the PECOTSAS project. The PECOTSAS project (Comparative Perspective on the Third Sector of Social Action) has been carried out between 2018 and 2021 and is funded by the 2017 Call for RDI Excellence Projects of the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (RFA: CSO2017-85486-P). We conclude with the idea that there are territorial peculiarities over which a common style of action prevails, which does not allow us to refer either to a state-wide model of TSSA or to differentiated regional models.

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How to cite this article

MARBÁN-GALLEGO, V. & RODRÍGUEZ-CABRERO, G. (2021): “The Third Sector of Social Action in the Autonomous Communities: Third Sector patterns or territorial singularities?”, CIRIEC-España, Revista de Economía Pública, Social y Cooperativa, 103, 9-41. DOI: 10.7203/CIRIEC-E.103.21496.

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Abstract

In this article, we explore the elements that have shaped the socio-historical configuration of the Third Sector of Social Action (TSSA) as a prominent actor in the Spanish welfare mix. Bearing in mind that this process of creation and expansion of private non-profit organisations operating in the social sphere has been parallel to the process of decentralisation of a large portion of the responsibility for the social policies of the Spanish welfare state to the Autonomous Communities, we examine the differences that have marked the particular trajectories of the TSSA in the Autonomous Communities. 

To this end, we have relied on secondary and primary (interviews and group meetings) sources collected in a selection of regional cases in the framework of the PECOTSAS project. We have structured the comparative analysis on the basis of three types of elements: a) the political conditions that enabled the TSSA; b) the structural conditions of economic and territorial development; and c) the social actors who have played a leading role in social mobilisation linked to TSSA organisations. The results suggest that the patterns of regional differentiation of the TSSA are rooted both in the forms of distribution of power resulting from the process of democratic transition and in the differences in the patterns of economic development, population distribution and historical traditions of social mobilisation in the Spanish regions, without losing sight of the fact that these elements also have an impact on intra-regional differences.

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How to cite this article

RIVERO, Á. & ARRIBA, A. (2021): “Comparative socio-historical approach to the Spanish regional Third Sector of Social Action (TSSA)”, CIRIEC-España, Revista de Economía Pública, Social y Cooperativa, 103, 43-73. DOI: 10.7203/CIRIEC-E.103.21514

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Abstract

The Third Sector of Social Action (TSSA) is a relevant actor in the co-production of welfare in the welfare mix, interrelated with public administrations and often dependent on their funding. In recent years, the economic crises and the reconfiguration of the field of social services with increasing competition from the market sector are redefining the role of the TSSA in the provision of social services. In the framework of the Comparative Perspective on the Third Sector of Social Action in the Autonomous Communities (PECOTSAS) project, funded by the State Research Plan of the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (ref CSO2017-85486-P), we have comparatively analysed the institutional and social fit of the TSSA in different Autonomous Communities, to explore whether there are differential factors in its development within each region, using a qualitative methodology based on interviews and focus groups with experts, professionals and other relevant actors of the TSSA and the public administration. This article focuses specifically on the TSSA’s relations with the regional administrations. In particular, it analyses comparatively the position of the TSSA in the existing legislation on social services in each Autonomous Community, the prevailing forms of economic collaboration for the provision of services and the development of social action programmes, as well as the existence of spaces for the participation of the TSSA in decision-making related to social welfare.

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How to cite this article

DÍAZ, E., GARCÍA, S. & MANCHA, L. (2021): “The relationship between the Third Sector of Social Action and the public administrations. A regional comparison”, CIRIEC-España, Revista de Economía Pública, Social y Cooperativa, 103, 75-110. DOI: 10.7203/CIRIEC-E.103.21522.

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Abstract

The Third Sector plays a central role in the European Welfare States as it responds to a wide variety of social needs that emerge within them. In the current context, European Welfare States are converging towards decentralized models and multilevel management of social policies, causing regional welfare models to show great variability in their governance and institutional framework, enabling the creation of different relationship models between the public administration and the Third Sector.

In Gipuzkoa, the role assumed by the different actors account for the substantive and operational dimensions of the relationship between the public administration and the Third Sector. This debate has also been fueled by the need to adapt collective responses to the social gap generated by recent social crises.

This article analyzes the discourses and demands formulated from the Third Sector itself, set on the premise that positions on how the interrelation should be between both actors depend on the perception around the main sources of tension and conflicts.

To this end, a qualitative case study has been carried out. Thirty-four in-depth semi-structured interviews were developed with key informants from both, the Third Sector and the public administration, devoting special attention to the keys on which public-private relations in the territory of Gipuzkoa are produced and what should be in the future.

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How to cite this article

IZAGUIRRE, A., SÁNCHEZ, V. & ZUÑIGA, M. (2021): “The relationship between the public administration and the third sector in Gipuzkoa under debate: one or several models in view of the heterogeneity of the sector?”, CIRIEC-España, Revista de Economía Pública, Social y Cooperativa, 103, 111-139. DOI: 10.7203/CIRIEC-E.103.21489.

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Abstract

The evolution and positioning of the Third Sector as an actor is linked to the nature and morphology of its networks and to the spaces of civic connection-collaboration around which Third Sector organisations weave their webs. This study analyses the relational dimension of the sector. 

The article presents some of the results of the PECOTSAS project, referring to the analysis of the articulation process of the TSSA in Spain and its contribution to the generation of collective forms of social capital. We intend to identify the main elements involved in this process in a sample of seven Autonomous Communities in order to discern the extent to which their evolution has given rise to different regional developments of the Third Sector.

In methodological terms, the research results have been obtained, on the one hand, from the analysis of the literature and secondary sources (descriptive analysis), and on the other hand, from the development of 48 in-depth interviews with key informants (managers, technical staff, volunteers, stakeholders and 14 focus groups (analysis of perceptions).

The study argues that, although the Third Sector is essentially a civic actor, the configuration of its networks has been largely shaped by the aspects of collaboration and service provision in public policy contexts, with advocacy, the production and internal dissemination of knowledge and the promotion of voluntary participation also being influential. Finally, we conclude that, although it is true that each of the regions under analysis presents singularities, a set of conditioning elements at the European and state levels exert a homogenising pressure on the networks.

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How to cite this article

JARAÍZ-ARROYO, G. & GONZÁLEZ-PORTILLO, A (2021): “Collaboration dynamics in third sector social action organizations in Spain”, CIRIEC-España, Revista de Economía Pública, Social y Cooperativa, 103, 141-170. DOI: 10.7203/CIRIEC-E.103.21498.

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Abstract

The third sector of social action (hereinafter TSAS) is, from a theoretical perspective, an elusive and fluid concept, especially in the European sphere. Debates and consensus definitions have been numerous to build a measurable, shared, comprehensive and comparable concept. These efforts have yielded remarkable results in the development and analysis of the TSAS. Now, the dynamism of social reality in the last 10 years has produced innovative and alternative responses from civil society that have impacted on the shared worldview of the conceptual frameworks, functions and actions of the TSAS.

The TSAS has been configured as a hybrid relational space that develops in dynamic tension between citizen mobilization, social entrepreneurship, the social economy and community support networks. This tension, which produces multiple meanings and perspectives for analysis, is only understandable from the analysis of the plural responses promoted by civil society.

The purpose of this article is to analyze this process in the 10-year period between the Great Recession (2009-2012) and the Great Stop (2020) produced by Covid-19.

We must understand this hybrid relationship from the intensification of the care pressure that both crises have meant for all social organizations. This tension has spun from the dynamism of social movements in the Great Recession and the rise of neighbourhood-community networks during the pandemic.

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How to cite this article

MORA, S. & LORENZO, F.J. (2021): “Relational hybridization of Third Sector of Social Action in the last decade. Between mobilization and neighborhood-community networks”, CIRIEC-España, Revista de Economía Pública, Social y Cooperativa, 103, 171-196. DOI: 10.7203/CIRIEC-E.103.21476.

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Abstract

The Covid-related crisis has once again highlighted the relevance of the financial system. The last financial crisis had an intense impact on the banking system, causing a sharp decline in lending activity, which, in many cases, has resulted in an increasing risk of financial exclusion especially in those territories in demographic decline. In this context, credit unions, characterized by their small size, localism and vocation of proximity banking, have suffered a less marked deterioration in assets than the rest of the entities of the banking system. In addition, they operate in areas where the population density is lower, differentiating their activity from the business of lucrative banking contributing to alleviate the financial exclusion of a geographical nature in these spaces. 

In an attempt to vindicate the role of credit unions, in the development of the territories of depopulation Spain, the present work is proposed. The aim of this is, on the one hand, to analyze the relationship between the financial system, employment and population, and on the other, to check if the presence of credit unions is greater where both factors are weaker, providing service in the spaces not attended by financial intermediaries. To this end, an empirical study is presented based on a model of structural equations using a partial least squares technique for demographic and financial activity data in 2018, the province is used as a unit of analysis.

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How to cite this article

CARCHANO, M., CARRASCO, I. & SOLER, F. (2021): “The contribution of credit cooperatives to alleviate geographical financial exclusion in less populated areas. The case of Spain”, CIRIEC-España, Revista de Economía Pública, Social y Cooperativa, 103, 197-224. DOI: 10.7203/CIRIEC-E.103.17509.

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Abstract

This paper aims to assess public preferences and WTP for policies addressing social inclusion. As a result of surveying 1250 residents in the Canary Islands (Spain) it has been found that society is highly sensitive to price, since people always choose to pay the cheapest option in support of social inclusion. In addition, the interviewees show a greater preference for basic income as a form of policy with a WTP of about 60 euros, while the WTP for other programmes related to awareness are less than 39 euros/year. The study allows to formulate a package of recommendations to increase the effectiveness of current policies aiming to promote a more inclusive and resilient society.

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How to cite this article

GONZÁLEZ HERNÁNDEZ, M. & LAM GONZÁLEZ, Y.E. (2021): “Public preferences and willingness to pay for social inclusion programmes: The Spanish case”, CIRIEC-España, Revista de Economía Pública, Social y Cooperativa, 103, 225-248. DOI: 10.7203/CIRIEC-E.103.18283.

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Abstract

The Environment is current and has become a capital topic for any field of study or research. Accounting as a science that gathers economic and social changes cannot remain apart from the current environmental problem that our world is suffering and that is why we should not see Accounting as part of the problem but as part of the solution. The purpose of this article is to carry out a descriptive analysis of how traditional accounting includes the environmental aspects of an organization and how environmental accounting can be a useful tool for the social economy, facilitating the provision of information and the achievement of those objectives of Sustainable Development (SDG) focused on environmental aspects. For this, the economic and business functions that the environment can have are analyzed and how the different accounting regulations of the Social Economy have included these aspects. Among the main results it can be verified that the accounting regulations do not establish differences between conventional companies and social economy companies and that the contribution of accounting information by companies is far from being totally transparent, homogeneous and complete. The implementation of a conceptual framework of environmental accounting within Social Economy companies can be an opportunity for them and for the fulfillment of the SDGs.

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How to cite this article

MUÑOZ, M.P. & ENCISO, V. (2020): “Environmental accounting as a tool for incorporating environmental sustainability in Social Economy companies”, CIRIEC-España, Revista de Economía Pública, Social y Cooperativa, 103, 249-277. DOI: 10.7203/CIRIEC-E.103.17838.

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Abstract

Entrepreneurial initiatives –whether social or commercial– generate a significant economic and social impact. For this reason, supporting entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs has become a real necessity today, since the development and growth of our territories and countries depend to a large extent on it. In this context, achieving a deeper understanding of the main determinants of entrepreneurship is undoubtedly of great value for economies and society in general. This is particularly important in the case of adolescents, given the need to stimulate entrepreneurship from an early age. The present article aims to make a contribution in this sense, with the central objective of characterizing and comparing high school students from two different countries from the point of view of a series of personal and family characteristics, relating them to their future entrepreneurial intentions, whether in the field of commercial and/or social entrepreneurship. To achieve this objective, the same survey was applied to a sample of Chilean (n=4661) and Basque (n=5767) students. The results reveal that Chilean students exhibit a greater inclination to follow an entrepreneurial career than their Basque peers. Likewise, it is observed that a set of traits that shape an “entrepreneurial personality” are associated with higher future entrepreneurial intentions in both groups of students. Those who develop intentions of social entrepreneurship, on the other hand, are more closely linked to the possession of social sensitivity and a sense of ethics.

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How to cite this article

TORRES-ORTEGA, J. & MONZÓN CAMPOS, J.L. (2021): “Future entrepreneurial intentions in Chilean and Basque high school students”, CIRIEC-España, Revista de Economía Pública, Social y Cooperativa, 103, 279-314. DOI: 10.7203/CIRIEC-E.103.20933.

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Abstract

The celebration of the 100th anniversary of the ILO’s Cooperatives Unit sparked interest in reviewing the progress made by this institution in relation to the recognition and promotion of worker cooperatives. To this end, the Promotion of Cooperatives Recommendation (2002) and the Guidelines concerning statistics of Cooperatives (2018) were taken as the focus of study. From the analysis of both documents, the conclusion was drawn that although the former calls for the recognition of cooperatives in the terms established by the ICA, and for their promotion by States, establishing a legal framework favourable to them and compatible with their nature as self-managed enterprises, the fact is that associated work is still not recognised as a mode of work distinct from dependent work (wage-based) and self-employed (individual) work. This lack of recognition does not correspond to the recommendations of the ICA (2005) claiming that “the relationship of the worker-member with their cooperative should be considered as distinct from that of conventional wage-based dependent work and self-employed work”. The lack of recognition is often attributed to the modest size of these cooperatives and their possible use to circumvent the application of labour law. However, as we have shown, the former cannot be proven, and the latter is not sufficient reason to ignore or prohibit them, since there are other means to combat fake cooperatives. The lack of a contractual relationship between the worker-member and the cooperative is not a weakness but a strength and is the result of having a specific legal type for the cooperative, as opposed to other countries such as France or Italy which, because they lack such a type, are incorporated as Public Limited Companies or Limited Liability Companies, and subsequently hire their members so that they can work in their company.

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How to cite this article

FAJARDO, G. (2021): “Associated work in a cooperative is neither dependent work nor self-employed work”, CIRIEC-España, Revista de Economía Pública, Social y Cooperativa, 103, 315-335. DOI: 10.7203/CIRIEC-E.103.20685.