Social Investment in welfare: a sub-national perspective

Abstract

Taking a critical but sympathetic perspective, this chapter discusses recent debates around Social Investment as a new welfare paradigm. Scholarly and policy literature on Social Investment focus on aggregate effects and macro-comparative analysis with limited reference to local and micro level implementation and practice. Innovation is an essential element of Social Investment as social policies require constant adaptation to new challenges, yet literatures on Social Investment and social innovation rarely connect. This chapter sets the scene for the edited collection, highlighting the aim to advance empirical and conceptual insight into Social Investment from a social innovation and a sub national perspective. It briefly introduces in-depth, multi method case studies in ten EU countries of innovative, strategic approaches to delivering social investment policy at a sub national level.