Publication: Legal Framework for Social Enterprise: Lessons from a Comparative Study of Italy, Malaysia, South Korea, United Kingdom, and United States
Date
2017-04-18
ISSN
Published
2017-04-18
Author(s)
Triponel, Anna
Agapitova, Natalia
Abstract
Social enterprises are emerging as a new
area of public policy: several countries seek to stimulate
private sector contribution to development outcomes, and
social enterprises could be important players in that
agenda. However, those seeking a middle ground between
for-profit and non-profit sectors to enable social
enterprise have found legal frameworks to be lacking. This
has triggered a range of legal developments over the past
ten years, with a number of countries seeking to implement
appropriate legal frameworks that can support and stimulate
the development of social enterprise. These legal frameworks
can both define social enterprise as well as to structure
it, through the creation of new legal forms and regulations.
The objective of this study is to analyze various
definitions and forms under which social enterprises operate
in five countries and the implications for public policies.
The study is based on literature review and a small number
of interviews clustered around Italy, Malaysia, South Korea,
the United Kingdom, and United States, where social
enterprise has attracted government`s interest. The study
analyzes how the government operationalized its engagements
with social enterprises. It takes a historical perspective
to understand the legal forms available to, and adopted by,
social enterprises, and the advantages and disadvantages of
various approaches.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Triponel, Anna; Agapitova, Natalia. 2017. Legal Framework for Social Enterprise: Lessons from a Comparative Study of Italy, Malaysia, South Korea, United Kingdom, and United States. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/26397 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”