Social Investments: “It’s going slow, but it’s happening” : A study on the feasibility and future of Social Bonds and Social Outcome Contracts in Sweden

Abstract: As we face increasingly complex problems of both a social and environmental nature, innovative and multifaceted solutions are required to create a sustainable future. Despite Sweden's leading position in terms of financial solutions to environmental issues, Sweden is behind most OECD economies in the development of a financial infrastructure for private investment for social and socio-economic projects. In our essay, we examine what the conditions are for social investments in Sweden. The purpose of our study is to investigate and analyze incentives, challenges, and opportunities for social investments in the Swedish capital market. In our approach, we investigated the institutional conditions for the implementation of social investments in a Swedish context, and the various areas of responsibility associated with social investments. In addition, we have analyzed how transaction costs and the organizational structure affect social investments in Sweden. It is also those four relationships that formed the basis of the study's analysis model, which have been used to analyze the empirical material. A qualitative method has been used to answer the purpose of the study. A total of ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with representatives from the Swedish financial industry and the public sector. The study shows that the demand for increased measurability and a more data-driven approach, as well as the possibility of a more well-diversified portfolio, constitute incentives to invest socially sustainable. The challenges identified essentially deal with risk management, control, and organizational structure. The fundamental possibility of social investment, in the form of social outcome contracts, is its potential to generate a win-win-win situation, where all parties benefit from the outcome. In addition, we also found opportunities linked to the organizational structure and control, as these could facilitate future implementation in a Swedish context. It is proposed that the development of the limited company form would serve as inspiration for a more organic development and adaptation to the Swedish market.