Social enterprises in Italy: The experience of social co-operatives

The paper is mainly divided into three parts. The first part is devoted to understanding the Italian third sector, with particular reference to the principal organisational and legal forms that define it and to some quantitative relevant data. The second part is largely focussed on social co-operatives, which are herewith regarded as the best paradigm to comprehend the evolution of the Italian nonprofit sector towards a more productive role with respect to the traditionally advocacy one. Finally, the third part underlines the relations existing between social enterprises and employment policies so as to grasp the potential for new developments in this field.