Healthily Crazy Business! Solidarity Economy and Financial Education as Emancipation Tools for the Mentally Ill

Abstract

There is a socially constructed perception that people with mental illnesses do not have the resilience to endure the pressures of the capitalist model of work. Solidarity economy (SE) appears as an alternative for the inclusion of mentally ill people in the realm of work and productivity, enabling them to (re)produce their subjectivities. In this study, we develop a critical reflection on the possibilities of entrepreneuring, solidarity economy, and financial/accounting literacy as tools towards a health promotion strategy that empowers and allows the emancipation of the individuals, so that they may (re)write their stories and give society an account of themselves other than their mental illness. This paper starts from the analysis of the experience of two Brazilian se ventures engaged in mental health promotion, in which we proposed and conducted a financial education program aimed at providing SE worker-members with tools to actively participate in discussions about financial and accounting-related decisions. Afterwards, we engaged in an action research exercise, building on lessons learned: the importance of abandoning preconceived ideas of mental illness and relying on sharing experiences and participation; and how real-life struggles are a source of knowledge, as discussed through the concept of “learning by doing.”

A Systematic Review of Financial Literacy Research in Latin America and The Caribbean

“…This study developed broad conceptualizations regarding FL since they can vary and include new terms depending on the research context. FL has been linked to topics such as sustainability [86], artificial intelligence [28], and health [29], which shows that there is a flexible interconnection with other areas of knowledge. This relation between literacy and other topics may seem alien to a financial approach, but it has allowed the development of programs and policies that promote financial inclusion.…”

“…In the study by Genta Maragni et al (2021), their contribution was not only about the financial field; it included research on mental health. The authors sought to provide the possibility to undertake and improve the finances of people with mental illnesses, providing a new focus on the financial inclusion of a vulnerable population often undervalued in the workplace [29]. Duch et al (2021) focused on a vulnerable group, retirees who receive pensions from private and public systems, and the authors carried out a field experiment to improve the retirees' financial wellbeing [30].…”

“…There is no established way to guide people's FL [2,33,43]. Therefore, most authors who want to impact FL levels quickly base their intervention designs on definitions associated with financial education [27,29,32,34,74]. All of them consider that FK without a proper theoretical approach ignores the need to improve behavior and attitudes of individuals.…”

Educación financiera y finanzas personales: un algoritmo matemático booleano en caso aplicado

“…Para Mungaray et al (2021) la educación financiera comprende un papel de suma importancia en el desarrollo del bienestar de los ciudadanos, mediante la mitigación de la desigualdad y la propensión a la toma de decisiones financiera acertadas. Genta Maragni et al (2021) lo categoriza como un medio de empoderamiento que permite la emancipación de los individuos, en otros términos, la mitigación de la dependencia. Fonseca & Lord (2020) asumen que la educación financiera es un mecanismo académico que reduce las brechas de género.…”

Financial Performance Factors and Technological Resources in The Strategic Management of Tourism Companies

“…In such a way, the current conditions of the global economy require constant changes from organizations to strengthen their performance and be competitive in the market (Calderón et al, 2009), (Parra et al, 2022) Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MIPYMES) present difficulties in the strategic management strategy to face these conditions, which makes them vulnerable and uncompetitive despite being a great support for the national economy and in the generation of employment, vanishing shortly after being created. This environment unveils the impact of strategic management models that exert those strategies that have been successful in practice, thus generating challenges for the administration and management of businesses with a focus on entrepreneurship, the solidarity economy and financial education (Teixeira, 2021). For the study of companies, it is important to start from the local and multidimensional approach to determine the specifications required by each territory; which makes it dispensable to carry out studies on the conformation and behavior of companies from the local level, this due to the scarce information that limits having quantitative data, as well as the characterization of companies in the regions (Romero et al, 2023).…”