The social economy in Romania put to the test of current realities and public perception[La «economía socială» en Rumania frente a la realidad de los hechos y las representaciones]

The concept of the social economy ("economia socială") has recently appeared in Romania. Initially promoted by researchers, today it is proposed in legislation. This recent development is underpinned by two concerns: an economic concern about the compliance of Romanian social and solidarity economy enterprises with the European directives on company statutes and harmonised accounting (4th directive) and a political concern about the sector's image in public life. Through this emerging concept, this article tries to trace the recent evolution of the ideas related to the social economy and to understand the unique features of a Romanian social economy. To do this, we interviewed actors about the usefulness of the "economia socială" terminology, what it means to them and its potential impact. This provides some clues about the possible future development of the social economy sector in Romania.