THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF «THE THIRD SECTOR» AND SUBJECTS OF «SOCIAL ECONOMY» DEVELOPMENT IN UKRAINE

Abstract

The article analyzes certain theoretical aspects of the development of «the third sector» and subjects of social economy. The terms «social economy» and «third sector» have long been in circulation in Western economic science, legislation and business practice and today are an important component of the developed countries’ economies. However, for Ukraine they are relatively new, uncommon and insufficiently researched, which, in turn, creates obstacles for their active development. Therefore, the analysis of existing approaches in European economic science and the development of theoretical aspects of the «third sector» and social economy development in Ukraine is a very relevant and important scientific task. The peculiarities of use of the term «social economy» in two different meanings have been established. The first is related to the general theoretical aspects of macroeconomics and certain theoretical and political economic concepts of the «improvement» of capitalism. The second is related to practical embodiment of the idea of mutual aid in the form of a special type of enterprises (organizations) that have a «non-capitalist nature» (do not want to make a profit) and form a separate, special sector of the market economy, consisting of real business entities whose activities are based on the idea of mutual assistance and has a clear social direction. Within the social economy sector, another term stood out and became widespread, which is «solidarity economy» – as a part of the social economy at grassroots level (in individual territorial communities and on the basis of other stable groups of people united by a certain sign of solidarity). Therefore, in the literature, the terms «social» and «solidarity» economy are found both separately and together when it comes to organizations or enterprises of social (solidarity) economy (SSE organizations or ESS). The terms «social economy» and «third sector» are quite close in meaning, because they unite specific non-state, non-profit, socially oriented organizations. However, «the third sector» is a category that includes, but is not limited to, social economy entities. In other words, «social economy» is the largest and most important part of «the third sector». The social economy subjects traditionally include cooperatives, mutual societies, fund associations and social enterprises. All of them have non-profit economic nature and specific legal regulation. In the article, significant attention is paid to the disclosure of these features, common features and differences of various subjects of the social economy.