ECONOMIC GAINS FROM SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Social enterprises are crucial for Europe and its economy. These enterprises significantly contribute to job creation (especially for socially sensitive groups) and accounts for about 6 % of GDP across the European Union. In Latvia the role of social entrepreneur-ship is underestimated. The research aim is: based on the international experiences regarding social entrepreneurship, to determine economic gains of social businesses in Latvia. During the first year of developing social enterprises (2015) in Latvia, it is envisaged to establish 250 social enterprises, in which in total 1250 people will be employed, of which 50 % will be individuals from socially sensitive groups. Thus, the social benefit burden in municipalities will decrease by EUR 61 thousand, while almost EUR 222 thou-sand will be collected by the national government. The total gain from social entrepreneurship will amount to EUR 1.5 million over a six year period (2015–2020). KEY WORDS: social entrepreneurship, social business, government