SOCIAL ECONOMY AND INFORMAL ECONOMY. INTERACTIONS AND EFFECTS

Abstract

Both social economy and informal economy define complex economic phenomena, multifaceted, which generated multiple platform debate and analysis among economists, sociologists and lawyers. Perspectives on these concepts are the most diverse and present work attempts to link these views to find common denominators, but also the elements that differentiate them. Official social economy interacts with the informal economy through the initial use of capital and generating links between different forms of capital. Underground economy is based more on use of illicit and immoral capital, while the development of a formal social require networks of trust, reciprocal links with other groups and institutions, social and economic relations that are based on values and norms recognized by society. The interplay of social economy - informal economy is manifested either through a transition from the sphere of the informal (unofficial) to formal (official) or by maintaining and emphasizing underground activities as a result of using illegal or informal social networks and social capital already existing. From the perspective of this study, social economy-binomial informal economy should be seen as: a) mediating factor between the official and unofficial; b) factor of influence to ensure a legal and institutional framework apt to limit and discourage underground activities; c) factor of transition from the informal economy to the social economy.