ABSTRACT
The concepts of social enterprise, social innovation and co-production share much in common and comprise three related post-NPM concepts. This chapter considers their three main dimensions, i.e., their economic, political and social dimensions. It begins by discussing the economic, political and social aspects of social enterprise, and turns to social innovation and finally to co-production. Recognizing their separate dimensions as well as understanding the similarity between them will facilitate forging links between them and also emphasize the synergy between the goals they promote. The chapter provides some comparative evidence from social enterprises providing childcare in Sweden. It considers the public debate on social enterprise and then focuses on the academic discourse. In Europe, by contrast, the policy and legal context appears much more conducive to the development of social enterprises as welfare actors, and European legal frameworks reflect specific legal traditions, welfare regimes and economic issues dealt with at the national level.
