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Social Finance and Impact Investing: Governing Welfare in the Era of Financialization
Social Finance und Impact Investing: Wohlfahrtsregulierung im Zeitalter der Finanzialisierung
[journal article]
Abstract Social Finance and Impact Investing took off after the 2008 financial crisis, offering alternative financing solutions for social welfare. Presented as answers to the pressing problems of the 21st century (public sector fiscal constraints, overstrained welfare states, and a lack of investment opport... view more
Social Finance and Impact Investing took off after the 2008 financial crisis, offering alternative financing solutions for social welfare. Presented as answers to the pressing problems of the 21st century (public sector fiscal constraints, overstrained welfare states, and a lack of investment opportunities in an era awash with investment-seeking capital), they propose to combine public and private funds in complex negotiated and cascade-like credit and subsidy structures. They aim at attracting private capital by advertising potential social and financial gains to private investors. This introductory article provides an overview of the Social Finance and social impact investment phenomenon. It discusses the scope of literature, and outlines the transformative trajectory of Social Finance in terms of financialization, public sector governance reform, and welfare state policies. Social Finance and Impact Investing are important research fields for the social sciences, as they are much more than mere "financial innovations." They transform how we govern and think of welfare and organize public sector funding. The articles assembled in this special issue provide the reader with insights into the making of a field and the establishment of new financial relations and circuits, judgement devices, and ranking schemes.... view less
Keywords
welfare state; funding; investment; privatization; philanthropy; capitalism; transformation; neoliberalism; social policy
Classification
Basic Research, General Concepts and History of Social Policy
Public Finance
Free Keywords
Social Finance; Impact Investing; Market Making; Evidence-Based Policy
Document language
English
Publication Year
2020
Page/Pages
p. 7-30
Journal
Historical Social Research, 45 (2020) 3
ISSN
0172-6404
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed