La Economía Social ante el nuevo paradigma de Bienestar social

In recent decades the shape and funding of what is known as the welfare state have become a common cause for concern in society as a whole. Moreover, the economic recession and the fiscal consolidation effort that governments in general have been obliged to make have shown the fragility of the present social protection system, particularly in view of the persistence of unfavourable economic scenarios. At the same time, the proliferation of new social needs and the rise of factors that increase demand (ageing, immigration, unemployment, globalisation, etc.) have overwhelmed the public sector's capacity to meet present and future social demands. Given this situation, the present social welfare model will inevitably be regenerated as a mixed model - founded on returning to greater involvement and participation by civil society in attending to social needs - to ensure the highest levels of welfare. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]