Régulation, innovation, économie sociale et transformations du modèle québécois : une analyse des travaux de Benoît Lévesque

Abstract

Our article examines the interpretation offered by Benoît Lévesque of the Quebec model of development, by basing ourselves both on his work and on the structuring ideas in some of the communities of inquiry he participated in. We then situate this interpretation, these ideas, and these communities in Quebec’s socio-economic and political context over the past four decades. We begin with a presentation of some of the central concepts used in Lévesque’s work, with a particular attention to the links established between regulation, innovation, and the social economy. We then highlight Lévesque’s interpretation of the transformations of the Quebec model of development over the last four decades, notably by considering the global economic recession of the early 1980s and its political and social impact. We then present debates around the role of social economy in Quebec, as well as Lévesque’s reflections on the recent evolution of the Quebec model of development and the three generations of social innovations. These debates and these reflections allow us to conclude by proposing ways of extending Lévesque’s work.

Keywords

• social innovation
• neoliberalism
• regulation
• social economy
• Benoît Lévesque
• Quebec model of development