Opportunities and challenges of the growing Social Economy. The role of the commercial organizations in Argentina.

Thematic area: 
1. Social Economy plurality in entrepreneurial forms
Language: 
English
State: 
Optional
Name(s) of author(s): 
Maria Eugenia Castelao Caruana
Name(s) of author(s): 
Miguel Francisco Gutiérrez
Affiliation(s) of author(s): 
Centro de Estudios de Sociología del Trabajo- FCE- UBA
Affiliation(s) of author(s): 
Centro de Investigaciones de Estudios Latinoamericanos para el Desarrollo y la Integración
Company / Organisation: 
Maria Eugenia Castelao
Address: 
Ambrosetti 277- 7E
Postalcode: 
1405
City: 
Buenos Aires

In contrast with the cyclic and concentrated movement of the Argentinean economy in the nineties, it showed a dynamic growth during the period 2003-2007, with rates of growth above 7% per year. However, the national product has begun to face a slow-down period as a result of the international crisis, whose consequences over employment and the production cannot still be estimated. The new cycle of economic growth began in the year 2003 and its development was grounded on four main factors: a high exchange rate, which improved the competitiveness of the economy; an efficient fiscal policy that guaranteed the concurrence of twin surplus; income distribution policies that boosted domestic consumption; and, finally, the positive expectations of the entrepreneurs, which motivated an annual rate of investment around the 20% of GDP. The fast economic recovery pushed the unemployment rate down very quickly, to below 10% of the working population. However, poverty and social exclusion, generated through a whole decade of marginalization, continued to affect a big portion of the population. In this context, the national government has implemented a number of public policies directed to promote the Social Economic sector (SE) and to consolidate it as a space of integration and development. During this period, the SE has shown its territorial impact capacity: generating employment, favoring the social inclusion and facilitating the organization process of the civil society and its involvement in generating public policies. Nevertheless, the development of this process has not been homogeneous at national level, revealing some of the difficulties the SE enterprises face to be part and expand their share in the markets. This situation impacts over their income levels, making more difficult their access to the formal sector of the economy and to guarantee decent work to their members. To overcome this situation, the commercialization nets and organizations that form part of the SE sector are essential mechanisms to consolidate the sector and answer to the challenges of the real economic context. This paper will describe the growth of the SE, the role of the national policies oriented to the sector and the relevance of the commercial organizations and nets of the SE for the sustainment and development of the social enterprises, for the period 2003-2007. This work will analyze, by means of a case study, the impact of these organizations in the performance of the social enterprises, considering its spatial, economical and commercial scope.

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Contact phone: 
054- 11- 49025060
Contact e-mail: 
eugecastelao@gmail.com