Isabel-Gemma Fajardo García graduated in Law from the University of Valencia, and earned her PhD in 1992 with the thesis Economic Management of Cooperatives. Member Responsibility. She pursued further studies at the universities of Genoa and Coimbra. She is a lecturer in Commercial Law at the Law Faculty of the University of Valencia and Director of the PhD programme. Ms. Fajardo is in charge of the field of law at CIRIEC-Spain (Centre for Research on the Social and Cooperative Economy) and has been co-editor of its Social Economy Law Journal, CIRIEC – Revista Jurídica de la Economía Social, since 1990. She is a founding member of IUDESCOOP (the University Institute of Research into the Social and Cooperative Economy). Her research work has centred on the legal and economic system regarding cooperatives, labour companies, social business, banking sections, company mergers, groups of companies and European companies, on comparative law and European harmonization of cooperative legislation, on social and work integration enterprises and on co-operative principles. She took part in drafting the Cooperative Acts of the autonomous regions of Valencia and Madrid, has published many books and articles and has given lectures and a number of graduate and PhD courses in Spain, Europe and Latin America. Currently she acts as adviser on the proposed reform of the worker-owned companies law in Spain. She is full member of the Cooperative Study Group on European Law, and Secretary of the network of European and Latin American universities that integrates research centers or groups consolidated in social economy, RULESCOOP.

Relevant Publications

• Fajardo García, I.-G.(2014) (forthcoming) Evolution of the social economy concept: from legal form to aims and principles and evidence of compliance. In: Cuypers, Coates and Vallet (Eds). Die Keure, Brugge

This study analyzes the evolution in the conceptualization of the social economy, from legal form to purposes and principles. It analyzes which purposes and principles are currently envisaged in European legislation and proposes mechanisms to enable public administrations to demonstrate their presence in social economy entities.

• Fajardo García, I.-G. (2013) Las cooperativas sociales. Entre el interés mutualista y el interés general (Social cooperatives. Between mutual interest and the public interest). In: Estudios de Derecho Mercantil. Liber amicorum Profesor Dr. Francisco Vicent Chuliá., Ed., Tirant lo Blanch, Valencia, pp. 279 a 294.

This study analyzes social cooperatives as a result of the evolution of cooperation: how from a mutual company created to meet the needs of its members, social cooperatives were created to serve preferably general interests. This development requires a new regulatory framework, as shown in jurisdictions such as France and Italy.

• Fajardo García, I.-G. (2013) Cooperative Law: An International Overview. Spain. In: Cracogna, Fici, Henrÿ (Eds.) International Handbook of Cooperative Law, Springer Berlin-Heidelberg, pp. 701-718.

This chapter is part of an international comparative study analyzing cooperative legislation, highlighting its strengths and weaknesses. It analyses Spanish cooperative law, formed by the set of laws of its autonomous communities, which requires prior systematic comparative study.

• Fajardo García, I.-G. (2013) La especificidad de las sociedades cooperativas frente a las sociedades mercantiles y la legitimidad de su particular régimen jurídico y fiscal según el Tribunal de Justicia de la Unión Europea (The specificity of cooperative societies compared with commercial companies and the legitimacy of their particular legal and fiscal regime according to the Court of Justice of the European Union). In:Revista de Derecho Mercantil número 288, abril-junio 2013, pp. 189-222.

This paper examines an important ruling of the European Court of Justice on September 8, 2011, on the compatibility of the tax treatment of cooperatives and state aid. The Court declared them compatible due to certain characteristics of cooperatives, such as their mutual and non-profit purpose and other features extracted from the SCE Regulation (2003) and the Communication of the European Commission on the Promotion of Cooperatives 2004.

• Fajardo García, I.-G. (2009 )La economía social en las leyes (The social economy in laws). In: CIRIEC. Revista de Economía, Pública, Social y Cooperativa nº 66, pp. 5-35.

This paper studies the presence of "social economy" and similar termsin European and Latin American law and reveals the diversity of ideas surrounding the same concept as well as the different roles of laws on social economy in Europe and Latin America

Projects

La sociedad anónima europea y la reforma del Derecho de Sociedades. Su repercusión en el Derecho de Sociedades español. (2004- 2006) This project funded by the Generalitat Valenciana (GV2004-B-188) explored the possibilities offered by the European Union Regulation 2157/2001 on the Statute for a European company to establish cross-border businesses. My part in the project was to study the method to form a European company through the merger of companies located in different states of the European Union. Role: Researcher Nueva etapa en la modernización del Derecho de sociedades europeo. (2007-2011) This continuation of the previous project (Ministerio Educación y Ciencia - SEJ2007-62969/JURI) examines the potential of two other legal instruments created by the European Union to enable the creation of European companies with thelegal form of aCooperative (Regulation 1435/2003) and aEuropean Private Company as a model for small and medium enterprises (Proposal June 15, 2008). My contribution focused on a comparative analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of various tools to carry out projects between institutions in different states. Role: Researcher Análisis de la viabilidad económica y jurídica de la Sociedad Cooperativa Europea domiciliada en la Comunidad Valenciana.(2007-2008) This Acción especial 2007 by the Generalitat Valenciana. (AE-2007-155) builds on the previous project and studied the feasibility of establishing a European Cooperative in Valencia. This entailed analyzing the rules that would apply in order to meet European, Spanish and regional standards. The study showed that discrimination means applying the same standards of promotion to entities which are subject to different regulatory frameworks and different requirements in their constitution and operation. Role: Researcher Los derechos de los socios ante los nuevos retos del Derecho de Sociedades. (2010- 2013) Recent European legislation on the rights of shareholdersled us to raise the question of recognition and defense of the rights of other partners. In particular, their rights and obligations, first studied in relation to the ability to be a member of housing cooperatives, and later, in general, the legal status of working partners in limited liability companies and cooperatives. The study was based on the law and practice, and funded by the Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (DER2010-17798/JURI). Role: Researcher Social entrepreneurship for the employment crisis and welfare state, IUDESCOOP (2013-2015) and Factores normativos y de políticas públicas en el éxito de la empresa social. (2013-2015) This project (DER2012-39223-C02-01) studies the possibility of establishing cooperative utilities to provide services previously provided by public companies. We are studying not only the legal form of the company or the presence therein of the public administration, but also the application of the administrative regulations in view of the service provided. Role: Researcher

Rafael Chaves is Professor of Economic Policy and Social Economy at the University of Valencia and leader of the Spanish TSI team. He obtained a European Doctorate Laureate in Economics in 1995 and was Director of the Research Institute IUDESCOOP for ten years until he took on the position of Director of the Official Doctorate Program on Social Economics at the same university. He is President of the Scientific Commission on Social and Cooperative Economics of CIRIEC-international. His research has focused on public policies towards the third sector, major figures in the field of social economy, and definitions and theories on the third sector and social economy. He has published in journals such as The Service Industries Journal, Service Business, Management Decision, Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, CIRIEC-España revista de economia publica social y cooperativa, Economía Industrial, International journal of rural development, Revista de estudios cooperativos, Nouvelles pratiques sociales, Journal of Cooperative Studies and books in editorials as De Boeck and Peterlang. He has extensive experience in leading international and national projects, financed by European Institutions as the European Economic and Social Committee or the DGV of the European Union, the scientific network CIRIEC-International and the Spanish Ministry of Science.

Relevant Publications

• Monzon, J.L. y Chaves,R. (2008): The European Social Economy: Concept and dimensions of the Third Sector. In: Annals of Public And Cooperative Economics, Vol. 79-3/4: 549-577.

This article focuses on recurrent, but needed to clarification, topics as the question of definitions, the national recognition of the concept of Social Economy and the dimensions of this European third sector. It begins with a proposition of a conceptual delimitation of the Social Economy and of the different classes of company and organisation that belong to it. Secondly it identifies the different agents which, irrespective of their legal form, form part of the Social Economy in each of the member states of the European Union and to compare the different national definitions that are related to the Social Economy concept. Finally, it provides quantitative data of the European Social Economy.

• Monzon,J.L. & Chaves,R. (2012): The social economy in the European Union. European Social and Economic Committee, Bruxelles.

This study, carried for the EU and translated into all the languages of the EU, had as main purpose to build the statistic and conceptual panorama of the European Third Sector, named Social Economy. It was the actualization of the other study carried in 2008.

• Chaves, R. & Monzón,J.L. (2012): Beyond the crisis: the social economy, prop of a new model of sustainable economic development. In: Service Business. An international journal, vol 6:1.

This article analyzes the social economy (SE) as a third major sector between the public economy and the capitalist private economy. It examines the SE concept, compares it with the nonprofit sector and analyzes its microeconomic foundations, functions in the economic system and implications for economic policy. The field of economic analysis needs to be broadened, abandoning the mainstream monism that emphasizes the study of capitalist private enterprises and taking a plural view of the economy. In this approach, other forms of business organization, particularly SE enterprises, become a priority for analysis, opening up new scientific, social and economic vistas.

• Chaves,R., Fecher,F. & Monzón,J.L. (2012): Recent issues in social economy research. Special issue. In: Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, 2012 (vol 83:3)

This is a special issue of this scientific journal specialized on public and social economy. The aim of the article was to analyse the recent evolution of the research field of the social economy, its major objects of study and the institutionalization of the this field of research.

• Chaves,R. & Demoustier,D. (eds) (2013): The emergence of social economy in public policies. An international perspective. Peter Lang Publishers.

This book presents the product of the international working group auspicated by CIRIEC-International and focused on the public policies carried at international level that promote the third sector / social economy.

Projects

The Social Economy in the European Union (2011-12) Commissioned by the CIRIEC-International by the European Economic and Social Committee. Role: Co-director Assessment of the public policy fostering social economy in Spain (2011) Co-directed with Professor Inmaculada Serra, commissioned by the Spanish Government – Ministry of Labour. Role: Director The social economy in public policies. The economic policy perspective (2010-12) Commissioned by the Spanish Government – Ministry of Research. Role: Co-director Social economy in the field of cooperation and development. An international perspective (2011) Co-directed with Prof. Jose M. Pérez de Uralde, contracted by the Carolina Foundation.

María Pilar Alguacil Marí is Professor of Financial and Taxation Law at Valencia University at the Department of Financial Law and Law History and Institute of Research on Social Economy, cooperatives and entrepreneurship IUDESCOOP. She holds a degree in Law, and a PhD in Tax Law from Valencia University with a thesis about the” pay-as- you- earn” withholding tax on income, which won the Special Award of the year 1993. Her research has focused on taxation of social economy businesses such as cooperatives, non-profits, associations, foundations and mutuals, specially on corporation tax, as well as on issues arisen by the conflict between European rules and the Member States taxation framework. One of this fields of expertise would be the state aid incompatibility provided in the European Union treaties. She is very experienced in leading coordinated projects about Social Economy and Social Businesses in Spain. She is a member of the research association CIRIEC- Spain and headmistress of the course “Taxation and acccountancy of cooperatives”. She is also the Director of theIUDESCOOPConsultantsservice,as an expert ontaxationof cooperatives andsocial enterprises.

Relevant Publications

• Alguacil Marí, M.P. (2013) Tax treatment of co-operatives in Europe under the State aid rules. In: Johann Brazda, Markus Dellinger, Dietmar RöBl (Hg.) Genossenschaften im Fokus einer neuen Wirtschaftspolitik Bericht der XVII. Internationalen Genossenschaftswissenschaftlichen Tagung (IGT) 2012 in Wien Im Auftrag der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Genossenschaftswissenschaftlicher Institute (AGI), Teilband IV, Länderstudien, LIT VERLAG GmbH & Co. KG

The accusation to the special regime of taxation for cooperatives, which could be considered unfair competition for the rest of undertakings, is not new. As a result of this, the European Commission has expressed its concern in some Decisions and actions related to some elements of the special tax regimes for cooperatives in Italy, Spain, and France. Also, the European Court of Justice delivered one ruling in the subject, the Paint Graphos of September 8, 20113. So we can extract some ideas about the boundaries of tax treatment of co-operatives imposed by theState aid regime. This is the last update of the question, already treated by the author in previous works such as ALGUACIL MARÍ, M.P. (2004) “Il trattamento fiscale delle cooperative alla luce del regime europeo degli Aiuti di Stato”, Rivista Di Diritto Tributario Internazionale Italy, and ALGUACIL MARÍ, M.P. (2011),”Fiscalidad de cooperativas y ayudas de Estado: parámetros de una reforma”, Documentos Instituto Estudios Fiscales, Ministerio de Economía y Hacienda, Spain.

• Alguacil Marí, M.P. (2013) Current problems in Spanish taxation of social cooperatives. An European perspective. In: EMES-SOCENT Selected papers Conference If not for profit,for what and how? July 2013.

 The Spanish tax treatment of social cooperatives is similar to the rest of cooperatives, not taking any notice of the fact of their specific features, such of the non-profit goals, or the social services they provide. They are not subjected to the regime applied to the non-profit Entities, such as Associations or Foundations (Law 49/2002), but to the one applied to worker’s cooperatives, or services cooperatives (Law 20/1990). One of the questions raised would be if the application of the tax treatment of non-profit entities would be compatible with the European rules on State aid. So sometimes these cooperatives may not meet the requisites of the tax law to get the tax benefits of cooperatives, as they are thought for another kind of cooperatives in Law 20/1990. On the other hand, some of the requisites are contrary to the goals aimed by Social business initiative, such as the participation of the European social entrepreneurship funds, contemplated in the proposal of the Commission of December, 2011. And they are a drawback also on the sustainability of the cooperatives themselves.

http://www.emes.net/what-we-do/publications/conference-papers/4th-emes-conference-emes-socent-selected-conference-papers/current-problems-on-the-spanish-taxation-of-social-co-operatives-a-european-perspective/

• Alguacil Marí, M.P. (2012) Empresas sociales y políticas europeas: los servicios sociales de interés económico general (Social Business and European Policies: Social Services of General Economic Interest). In: CIRIEC-España Revista jurídica de economía social y cooperativa Número monográfico Empresas sociales y Economía social, Spain.

Social enterprises and their activities have a bearing on a number of European Union policies, as highlighted in the recent Communication from the Commission on this type of venture. Also, public support or special tax treatment for such companies, particularly when they provide social services, may be relevant in relation to European competition law, especially regarding the treatment of State aid. Classifying these social services as services of general economic interest has an undeniable impact on the legal treatment of such aid.

• Alguacil Marí, M.P. (2010) La tributación de las empresas de participación de los trabajadores: cooperativas de trabajo y sociedades laborales. Apuntes para una reforma (Tax Treatment of Worker Owned Enterprises [Worker Cooperatives and Worker Societies]: Notes for a Reform). Revista de Estudios Cooperativos (REVESCO)

 The worker’s owned enterprises (worker cooperatives and worker societies) carry out social and economic goals valued by the Spanish Constitution and the European primary law. This characteristic would justify a better tax treatment, which would take notice of their specialties and the handicaps provoked by their structure and organization, as much as because their small size. The current fiscal regimen, however, doesn’t fulfill these criteria. The paper points out the constitutional and European parameters for a change in this fiscal regimen.

•  Alguacil Marí, M.P. (2007) La tributación de las sociedades laborales (Tax Treatment of Labour Companies), Aranzadi 2007.

Projects

Social entrepreneurship for the employment crisis and welfare state EMPRESOCIAL (2012-2015) In the context of employment and welfare state crisis, the aim of this project is to research the potential of firms belonging to social economy. In this line, firms can grouped in 3 types: self-employment firms, social firms that carry out social services and mutualist firms. The perspective of the research is holistic: we focus on legal systems and public policies, as well as organizational aspects, in order to characterize social firms, to measure efficiently the social component of the firm, and the benefits in terms of firm performance and welfare state. Role: Coordinator Regulation factors and public policies for the success of social firms. JURISOCIAL The aim of this project is to study the statutory and tax regulations, as well as the design of public policies, analyzing how social firms contribute to welfare state. Basing on the definition on social firm developed in subproject 2, in this subproject we detect possible anomalies in the set of regulations and public policies, and their effects in the firms. Likewise, proposals of improvement will be developed in order to improve the effectiveness in carrying out services and the job creation. These aims are studied in different levels: local, national and european. Role: Project Leader The Social Economy in Government Policies.A multilevel analysis from the legal and the economic policy perspective POLESCOOP (2009-2011) The objective of this research was to analyse, from two perspectives, the extent to which social economy organisations are taken into account in government policies. The first of these perspectives is that given the geographical decentralisation of government, this subject should be investigated in relation to the European Union, national and autonomous region spheres. The second addresses two prominent aspects of the relations between government policies and the social economy:on the one hand, the use of social economy organisations as tools of government policy, and on the other, the existence or otherwise of a specific policy to promote the social economy because, owing to the particular way it operates, it meets these public benefit goals. Role: Coordinator Public policies and the fiscal and government aid treatment of social economy organisations JURISCOOP (2009-2011) The aim of this research was to determine the importance of the social economy in the fiscal and financial policies of the nation, in the light of the division of powers generated by the geographical decentralisation of political power. Examination of the effects of this division of power will be followed by an analysis of the role played by financial operations as applied to the social economy in two key areas of public policy: employment policy and social cohesion policy. In particular, this will entail studying the fiscal system applied to types of organisation that are considered particularly suitable for fulfilling these policy objectives. The problems that arise from the tax treatment of European social economy organisations and the efficiency and reasonableness of the current fiscal system for social economy entrepreneurial organisations were also analysed. Non-profit organisations were the subject of specific treatment. Finally, attention was paid to the limitations that competition law imposes on fiscal policies and direct aid. Role: Project Leader

José Luis MONZÓN CAMPOS is Professor of Applied Economics (Economic Policy and Social Economy), President of CIRIEC-España, director of CIRIEC-España, a Public, Social and Cooperative Economy journal, and member of the editorial board of several Spanish and international journals. He is a founding member of FUNDIBES and NOVAFEINA, member of IUDESCOOP and Director of both the Spanish and the Ibero-American Social Economy Observatory. He was Director of the Valencia School of Business Studies, President of CIRIEC-International and its Scientific Commission on Social and Cooperative Economy and has managed several Spanish and international research projects on Social and Cooperative Economy, and professional training and the labor market. José Luis collaborated as an expert with the European Commission and with the Social and Economic European Committee. He is the author of numerous articles and books on social economy. Among the latest publications stand out The Social Economy in the European Union (co-directed with Professor Rafael Chaves) and the European Commission´s Manual for drawing up cooperative and mutual society satellite accounts (co-directed with Professor Barea).

Relevant Publications

• Barea, J. and Monzon, J.L. (eds.) (2008): Manual for drawing up cooperative and mutual society satellite accounts. European Commission, D.G. for Enterprise and Industry, Bruxelles.

Study carried out for the European Commission, D.G. for Enterprise and Industry, used by the Commission to produce satellite accounts for social enterprises in Spain, Belgium, Serbia, Bulgaria and Macedonia.

• Chaves, R. and Monzon, J.L. (eds.) (2008): The social economy in the European Union, European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), Bruxelles.

Study commissioned by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), published in all the official languages of the European Union.

• Barea, J. and Monzon, J.L. (eds.) (2011): Cooperative, mutual society and mutual provident society satellite accounts in Spain, Spanish National Institute of Statistics for the European Commission, Madrid.

Study carried out with the Spanish National Institute of Statistics for the European Commission (Agreement number: 30-CE-0317131/00-24)

• Barea, J. and Monzon, J.L. (eds) (2011): Satellite accounts for Foundations in Spain, Foundation of Savings Banks, Madrid.

Study contracted by FUNCAS (Foundation of Savings Banks)

Projects

“The main figures of the social economy in Spain: cooperatives, employee-owned companies, social enterprises, associations, foundations” (2011) Commissioned by the Spanish Government. Role: Director “Social Economy and employment of people with disabilities in the Basque Country” (2008) Co-directed with Professor Barea, contracted for the BBVA Foundation. Role: Co-director “The social economy in Spain in the year 2008” (2009) Commissioned by the Spanish Government. Role: Director “Code of Ethics for the socially responsible entities of the Social Economy” (2011) Commissioned by the Ministry of Labour in Spain. Role: Director

Teresa Savall Morera is a young researcher in the Research Institute on Social Economy (IUDESCOOP) of the University of Valencia. She has a pre-doctoral fellowship from the Spanish Government, Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports. She has a Degree in Economics from the University of Valencia, for which she won the Extraordinary End of Studies prize. She received a Master degree in Social Economy from University of Valencia. She is working on her PhD in the official program on Social Economy (cooperatives and non-profit) at the University of Valencia.

Relevant Publications

• SAVALL, T. (2013): "Análisis de la participación de la economía social en el diálogo social", Revista Vasca de Economía Social, nº 9, pp. 111-141.

The aim of this study is to examine the role of the social economy in the process of public policy making, both from a theoretical and from an empirical view. First, it provides a theoretical framework that integrates the most relevant theoretical contributions related to the analysis of the public policy process, as well as those theoretical approaches that justify sector participation in the policy making process. The empirical study presents the case of the “Comunidad Valenciana”, which discusses the degree of participation of the social economy agents in Valencian social dialogue.

• CHAVES, R. y SAVALL, T. (2013): "La insuficiencia de las políticas de fomento de cooperativas y sociedades laborales frente a la crisis en España", REVESCO, Revista de Estudios Cooperativos, nº113, pp. 61-91.

This article examines policies to foster cooperatives and labour companies during this time of crisis, identifying the main existing and new tools of governments, assessing their scope and evaluating their effectiveness. It identifies three policy groups: traditional promotion policies, new policies (including those devised by the regional governments and the new social economy law) and austerity policies.

Projects

Social entrepreneurship for the employment crisis and welfare state, IUDESCOOP (2013-2015) In the present circumstances, we have an employment and credit crisis. There are also social changes in families that make sustainability of public services difficult. It not only happens in Spain. In this context, the aim of this project is to research the potential of firms belonging to social economy, going into detail about firms which focus on policies to create employment and welfare state. La Economía Social en las políticas públicas. Perspectiva de política económica, IUDESCOOP (2009-2011) The Social Economy (SE) is a third sector in economies, it is instrumental in regulating social innovation and social and economic imbalances, such as employment and the provision of social services. From this perspective, increase the space given to the social sector in the policies of governments is a logical choice if we want to get higher levels of welfare. First we make a compilation and analysis of policies Social Economy. The assets subject to the policies of Social Economy and degrees of involvement of the social economy in the process of developing these policies are analysed from a multilevel perspective comparative (national, regional and international). The effectiveness of social economy policies will be evaluated, addressing both the specific instruments such as the models constructed effect. Finally we develop a set of policy tools with recommendations for political and social agents.