Promoting the "social economy" in Spanish legislation

Abstract

The “social economy” as a concept identify a way of doing business, characterized by its purposes and certain patterns of behavior common, it has been recognized in Spanish legislation since the 90's and especially in the last year with the approval of Law 5 / 2011 Social Economy. The main objectives of this Act are giving legal recognition to the social economy and promote its development. But the social economy, as identification of an economic reality has been under development long before, since the creation in 1990 of the National Institute for the Promotion of Social Economy. Nowadays, the promotion of social economy is a responsibility assumed by the Autonomous Communities. It usually subsidize the costs of activities to promote the social economy and general operating expenses of their representative entities. But the concept of social economy used identifies, with some exceptions only to cooperatives and worker-owned companies. The reason is that within each public administration to promote the social economy is generally the responsibility of the competent authority in employment. With the new law, the promotion of social economy should reach all the other families and it would be advisable for their promotion it attributed to an inter-ministerial organism.