CH - Business and Economics

2007

CH – Business and Economics

Lexikon der Sozialwirtschaft [Dictionary of Social Economy]. Ed. Bernd Maelicke. Baden-Baden: Nomos, 2008. 1,128 p. ill. 25 cm. ISBN 978-3-8329 -2511-6: EUR 98 [07-2-555]

This dictionary appeared at the end of 2007, but with an imprint of 2008. The work makes an original contribution to German-language dictionaries in the areas of social policy, the welfare state, and society in that it includes the economic side of social issues and the social-welfare system as a sector of the economy. The rubric of “social economy” refers to the non-profit sector and its relationship to the private sector. In addition, social economy has close ties to social policy in the political sphere. Socialeconomic actors include welfare associations and private or freelance service providers.

The work includes some 800 topics by more than 150 authors involved in the theory and practice of the fields of social work, social pedagogy, education, psychology, sociology, social policy, microeconomics, corporate economics, law, and public administration. The author index lists each author’s field of expertise. Articles are on average a little more than one page in length, detailed, and include bibliographic references. The subject index does not refer to any other topics within the articles that are different from the 800+ key-word headings, thus reducing the dictionary’s usefulness. And the lexicographer would wish more internal cross-referencing.

Aside from these few shortcomings, the dictionary offers an extensive diversity of subjects and provides a reference work for scholars and administrators unlike any other on the market. [lf/ga]

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