• 한국노년학
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.1057-1081
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• 2018

This study analyzed the case of elderly care cluster in Gwangjin-gu to explore the possibilities of social economy as a provider of community-based social services. Community-based means the approach by which community organizations build a voluntary and collaborative network to enhance collective problem-solving abilities. Therefore, it is very likely that the social economy that emphasizes people, labor, community, and democratic principles can contribute to community-based social services. This study analyzed social economic network by using four characteristics of social economy suggested by OECD community economy and employment program as an analysis framework. The results of this study are as follows: First, it is found that social economy would hardly supply community-based social services through network cooperation because of a large variation in community identity, investment to new product, and labor protection. Second, community users are not the consumers of the social economy and the products of the social economy stay in market products only for the organizations in social economy. In order to create good services that meet the needs of residents, community development approaches are required at the same time. The importance of community space where local residents and social economy meet is derived. Third, public support such as purchasing support has weakened the ecosystem of social economy by making the distinction between public economy and social economy more obscure. On the other hand, public investment in community infrastructure is an indirect aid to social economy to communicate with residents and to promote good supply and consumption. In the end, community-based social services need a platform where the social economy and the people meet. This type of public investment can create the ecosystem of the social economy.