Solidarity economy and work paths: A retrospective from national data

Abstract

Solidarity economy has expanded and gained public and academic recognition in recent decades, which means that views, definitions and approaches have multiplied, generating a conceptual polysemy and diverse interpretations about it. This paper examines these issues taking into consideration national statistics on the solidarity economy. It highlights their methodological value and explores them from various perspectives, in particular as to the origin and meaning of solidarity experiences, from the point of view of their members, their work itineraries and their aspirations. Through a retrospective analysis of the latest national data from 2013, the solidarity economy enables specific social categories to the option of collective forms of socio-economic organization. This fact explains the structural heterogeneity of these practices, the impropriety of treating them as an empirical unit in itself, and the desirability of seeking in their latent features their instituting logics.