Social and Solidarity Economy in Ecuador: Fostering an Alternative Development Model?

Unai Villalba-Eguiluz, Asier Arcos-Alonso, Juan Carlos Pérez de Mendiguren and Leticia Urretabizkaia
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Unai Villalba-Eguiluz: Department of Applied Economics I, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU, Comandante Izarduy n° 23, 01006 Vitoria-Gasteiz, Basque Country, Spain
Asier Arcos-Alonso: Department of Applied Economics I, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU, Comandante Izarduy n° 23, 01006 Vitoria-Gasteiz, Basque Country, Spain
Juan Carlos Pérez de Mendiguren: HEGOA, Institute of Development Studies and International Cooperation, Avda. Lehendakari Agirre 81, 48015 Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain
Leticia Urretabizkaia: HEGOA, Institute of Development Studies and International Cooperation, Avda. Lehendakari Agirre 81, 48015 Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 17, 1-17

Abstract: The social and solidarity economy (SSE) has gained worldwide attention over the last decade. It represents a host of diverse economic activities which take different forms in each country, but which share solidarity values that are alternatives to mainstream market economic logics. In Ecuador, the SSE acquired legal status in the 2008 Constitution that aimed to foster an alternative development model based on the Buen Vivir (BV) paradigm. However, despite a broad new regulatory framework for the SSE, the implementation of specific policies faces significant challenges. This article, based on fieldwork and interviews with many stakeholders, critically analyzes the transformative scope of the policies of the main newly created institution (IEPS—Instituto de Economía Popular y Solidaria). We discuss policy challenges focusing on trade-offs for small rural producers due to their dependent market integration and overall flaws in fulfilling SSE solidarity values.

Keywords: social and solidarity economy; popular economy; solidarity economy; social economy; SDGs; Buen Vivir; Ecuador (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:17:p:6876-:d:403418

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