ABSTRACT
The first means by which 'full-engagement' can be pursued so as to revitalise deprived urban neighbourhoods is through the development of bottom-up initiatives to harness the social economy. Although academics and policymakers now widely embrace social economy initiatives as a tool for combating social exclusion, our argument in this chapter is that much of the current emphasis is upon using the social economy as a means of creating formal jobs and/or improving employability. This is based upon the belief that the social economy might be able to compensate for the deficits of the private and public sectors (Archibugi, 2000; Chanan, 1992, 1997; Community Development Foundation, 1995; ECOTEC, 1998; European Commission 1996, 1997, 1998; Fordham, 1995; Macfarlane, 1996; OECD, 1996).
