Social Innovation on the Rise: yet another buzzword in time of austerity?
Abstract
We challenge the idea that social innovation can constitute an effective strategy to counterbalance the retrenchment of public social provisions. The changes within the Italian healthcare system, one of the most important sectors of the welfare state, in which social innovation ideas have been widely discussed, are a clear example of a broader trend toward decentralisation and marketization. In conjunction with a new balance between public and private funding, these changes are contributing to increased inequalities and territorial disparities. A social innovation perspective, which is not embedded within a structural reform of the Italian welfare state and the health care system, might simply become a convenient buzzword to forward neoliberal ideology in a time of austerity.
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