Quand l’innovation sociale renouvelle l’action publique. Un regard croisé sur les expériences française et coréenne de l’ESS

In this article, we compare the institutionalization of the social and solidarity economy (SSE) in two countries, South Korea and France, which have chosen to develop specific public policies dedicated to the SSE. Our analysis aims to show how social innovation driven by the SSE contributes to renewing public policies. In response to this question, we observe a process of homogenization and differentiation. On the one hand, we show that the processes of institutionalization of the SSE unfold according to two conceptions of social innovation that illustrate two facets of the renewal of public action. In Korea, they are based on the production of goods and services with a social purpose by private players, while in France they are based on co-construction processes that have been widely tested by SSE players, but are still incomplete. On the other hand, we observe a process of convergence between the two countries, based on the growing heterogeneity of SSE players in each national context.