Social Impact Bond assetization struggles: A comparative case study of the United Kingdom and Germany

Abstract

Assetization has become a promising analytical lens in the field of economic sociology and related disciplines. It highlights the creation of reliable income streams for investors instead of competition, tradability and the short-term nature often highlighted in the analysis of (financial) marketization. The Social Impact Bond (SIB) is a noteworthy phenomenon to explore the potential development of assetization. The SIB developed from an original idea, wherein the risk for social programme delivery was supposed to transfer from the state to private investors, to a scheme, where the state increasingly de-risks private investors, particularly in the United Kingdom. We present a comparative case study of two SIBs from a SIB-hesitant institutional environment (Germany) and the United Kingdom, a country that supports SIBs through government investment funds. In both cases, we find assetization not being a straightforward process, which is why we focus on assetization struggles. We find assetization struggles along two dimensions: first, we observe actors struggling in relation to the investor return element of the SIB, second, we observe actors struggling in relation to the question of how, and to what extent the SIB framework should change the organization and practices of social work on the ground.