The ethical status of social impact bonds

Morley, Julia

doi:10.1080/17487870.2019.1573681

Cited by 16 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…To move forward, we need to broaden the debate in a way that retains the creative focus of policy-makers and practitioners with academics that we have seen in the learning we have done, but allies it to more challenging thinking about the moral imperatives and complex realities of the systems that produce both the inequalities and services for those with the most challenging needs in society (Morley, 2019). So, although we have posed the question 'whither social impact bonds?'…”

Section: Concluding Observations: 'Whither Sibs?'mentioning

confidence: 99%

Theme: Futures in social investment? Learning from the emerging policy and practice of Social Impact Bonds (SIBs)

Wilson

Fraser

Kimmitt

et al. 2020

Public Money & Management

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Section: Concluding Observations: 'Whither Sibs?'mentioning

confidence: 99%

Theme: Futures in social investment? Learning from the emerging policy and practice of Social Impact Bonds (SIBs)

Wilson

Fraser

Kimmitt

et al. 2020

Public Money & Management

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“…Julia Morley's (2019) paper considers the moral implications of SIBs and the marketisation of public services. This paper draws on the ethical considerations detailed in work by Debra Satz (Satz 2010) on the moral limits of the market.…”

Section: Theoretical Developmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Widening perspectives on social impact bonds

Tan

Fraser

McHugh

et al. 2019

Journal of Economic Policy Reform

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Social Impact Bonds (SIBs) are a novel financing mechanism for public services delivery. This special issue about SIBs in the UK argues that they necessitate closer examination to understand the implications for all stakeholders. This introductory paper critically explores and challenges dominant practitioner narratives of SIBs as "win-win" solutions for governments and service providers. While SIBs may foster innovation it is unclear if they deliver better value given the complexity of public services. SIBs are a strategically ambiguous policy tool and policymakers should be cautious about SIBs due to contractual complexity and issues with ethics, governance, accountability and transparency. ARTICLE HISTORY• Social Impact Bonds are a nascent area of academic research that merits further multidisciplinary analysis. • SIBs are a strategically ambiguous policy tool. • There is insufficient evidence as to whether and how SIBs deliver better outcomes than conventional forms of financing.

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“…Usually, SIBs provide additional non-core social services, rather than serving as substitutes for existing services, and enable innovation in tackling persistent social problems by generating economies through scaling and the use of effective performance management [20].…”

Section: Alignment Of Interests and Principal Agent Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, savings may not be a sure outcome of SIBs relative to other ways of contracting or delivering a service. Transaction costs associated with a SIB are higher relative to any other funding option [20,22,27,28]. With regard to transaction costs, Pandey et al [29] used Spiller's "transaction cost theory of regulation (TCR)" framework [30,31], which enables "opening of the black box of regulation" which governs public-private contracts to underline how public-private contracts also show the problem of the contractual hazards of governmental opportunism and third-party opportunism.…”

Section: Evaluation and Public Savingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…SIBs have also been the object of strong criticism due, for example, to a lack of evidence regarding their effectiveness [80] and for the "win-win narrative" through which they have been promoted in many countries [21]. Skepticism also lies in the absence of compelling supporting evidence, to the presence of high transaction costs [20,80], or to ethical issues such as the "financialization" or "marketization" of social policies [28,61,80,81].…”

Section: Enabling Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Social Impact Bonds for a Sustainable Welfare State: The Role of Enabling Factors

Carè

Lisa

2019

Sustainability

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The financial crisis has put pressure on governments throughout the world to reduce deficits with severe budgetary cuts in many welfare areas by reinforcing the need to modernize social policies and optimize their effectiveness and efficiency. Social impact bonds (SIBs) have rapidly become one of the most innovative financial schemes used by governments to privatize the upfront costs of welfare interventions by reducing taxpayer expenditure. Our analysis focuses on healthcare impact bonds (HIBs) that correspond to the adaptation of SIBs to health programs and are considered to be a viable way to fund out-of-pocket and preventive programs, especially considering the recent cuts to public healthcare expenditure. By using an in-depth qualitative analysis of existing practices based on a multiple case study approach, this study contributes to the ongoing debate on the role of SIBs for the future sustainability of welfare systems by proposing reflections and indications for the scalability and replicability of SIBs. With respect to the existing literature, this paper provides a theorization of the main scaling ingredients to be considered for the development of the SIB market as a supporting financial approach for new and emerging welfare needs by also proposing suggestions and insights and serving as a guide for scholars and practitioners.

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The ethical status of social impact bonds

Cited by 16 publications

References 30 publications

Theme: Futures in social investment? Learning from the emerging policy and practice of Social Impact Bonds (SIBs)

Theme: Futures in social investment? Learning from the emerging policy and practice of Social Impact Bonds (SIBs)

Widening perspectives on social impact bonds

Social Impact Bonds for a Sustainable Welfare State: The Role of Enabling Factors

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