Abstract

Any economic phenomenon with a social dimension, and any social phenomenon with an economic dimension, could be considered part of Social Economy. The main and most important trend that can be observed in the recent evolution of Social Economy is its consolidation in European society as a pole of social utility, concerning the health care sector. This paper focuses on recurrent, but necessary definitions, provides a short historical perspective and the dimensions of this European third sector between the private sector and the public one, explores the defining features of private organizations that compose the Social Economy sector, refers to the three main models that can be identified concerning the employment in the Social Economy and tries to elucidate the framework under which the social economy can provide social support as the primary determinant of health outcomes, today. This framework centers on the distinction between three kinds of social relationships in which individuals are engaged, bonding, bridging, and linking forms of social capital. One necessary condition required, among others, for a “healthy society” would be a balanced distribution of a relatively rich endowment of all three of these forms of social capital. Hence, we could think of the “care diamond”1 as the architecture through which a healthy society provides care for those with intense care needs. The institutions involved may be conceptualized in a stylized fashion as the care diamond, to include the family/household, markets, the public sector and the not-for-profit sector that would include voluntary and community provision.