Social economy in Angola: sociological perspectives on the present reality
- Sociology International Journal
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Paulo Cabeto
Abstract
For many years, the Angolan government concentrated its efforts on a mono-sector economy, heavily dependent on oil, neglecting the exploration of other crucial areas for the sustainable development of the country. This dependence resulted in volatile economic growth and perpetuated high levels of poverty and social inequalities. Currently, various studies in both sociology and economics emphasize the need for economic diversification
to find concrete solutions to the challenges faced by Angolan communities. This article analyzes the current state of the social economy in Angola from a sociological perspective. It is a bibliographical study, based on the analysis of existing literature on the phenomenon in the Angolan context. To understand the concrete reality of the country, the article discusses the issue on a macro level, considering the global scenario, and consequently addresses the current specificities of the country. It cross-references literature with different empirical data – from the National Institute of Statistics (INE-Angola), African Union, International Monetary Fund (IMF), CIRIEC-International, among others. The article highlights that the Angolan social economy is dominated by the agrarian structure, which consists of peasants and family farmers, whose operations represent 99.08% of the total number of farms, occupying 97% of the total cultivated area of the country. It also emphasizes that in the Angolan context, the main actors in the social economy are cooperatives, which are fundamental agents in the fight against poverty, unemployment, and social exclusion.
Keywords
social economy, social inequalities, economic inequalities, cooperatives
