Social Investment
Résumé
This chapter reviews the paradigm and spread of social investment policies, and discusses them as key elements of the “knowledge economy welfare state”. Social investments are policies that aim at creating, preserving, and mobilizing human skills and capabilities. The chapter discusses the emergence of social investment as a new social policy paradigm, presents different variants of the social investment approach, provides a mapping of social investment policies around the globe, discusses effects of social investment policies, and weighs in on important debates regarding the politics of social investment. The chapter closes with an outlook on avenues for future research.