Social impact bonds: the securitization of the homeless

Christine Cooper; Cameron Graham; Darlene Hinick

Social impact bonds: the securitization of the homeless

Christine Cooper, Cameron Graham, Darlene Hinick

Accounting And Finance

Research output: Contribution to conference › Paper

8 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This paper examines the recent phenomenon of social impact bonds (SIBs). Social impact bonds are an attempt to marketize/financialize to some contemporary, intractable “social problems” (for example, homelessness and criminal recidivism). SIBs rely on a vast array of accounting technologies including budgets, future cash flows, discounting, performance measurement and auditing. As such, they represent a potentially powerful and problematic use of accounting to enact government policy. This paper contains a case study of the most recent in a series of SIBs, the London Homelessness SIB and St Mungo’s, a London-based charitable foundation. The case is designed to enable a critical reflection on the rationalities which underpin the SIB. For this, the paper draws upon Michel Foucault’s work on biopolitics and neo-liberalism. The SIB is thoroughly neoliberal in that it is constructed upon an assumption that there is no such thing as a social problem -- only individuals who fail; it transforms all participants in the bond, except the homeless themselves, into entrepreneurs. The homeless are securitised into the potential future cash flows of investors.

Language	English
Publication status	Published - 8 Jul 2015
Event	11th Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Accounting Conference 2015 - Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden Duration: 8 Jul 2015 → 10 Jul 2015

Conference

Conference	11th Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Accounting Conference 2015
Country	Sweden
City	Stockholm
Period	8/07/15 → 10/07/15

Fingerprint

Securitization

Homeless

Social problems

Homelessness

Cash flow

Discounting

Government policy

Critical reflection

Performance measurement

Michel Foucault

Recidivism

Auditing

Neoliberalism

Rationality

Investors

Entrepreneurs

Biopolitics

Keywords

homelessness
social programmes
not-for-profit sector
biopolitics
Foucault

Cite this

Cooper, C., Graham, C., & Hinick, D. (2015). Social impact bonds: the securitization of the homeless. Paper presented at 11th Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Accounting Conference 2015, Stockholm, Sweden.

Cooper, Christine ; Graham, Cameron ; Hinick, Darlene. / Social impact bonds : the securitization of the homeless. Paper presented at 11th Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Accounting Conference 2015, Stockholm, Sweden.

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Cooper, C, Graham, C & Hinick, D 2015, 'Social impact bonds: the securitization of the homeless' Paper presented at 11th Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Accounting Conference 2015, Stockholm, Sweden, 8/07/15 - 10/07/15, .

Social impact bonds : the securitization of the homeless. / Cooper, Christine; Graham, Cameron; Hinick, Darlene.

2015. Paper presented at 11th Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Accounting Conference 2015, Stockholm, Sweden.

Research output: Contribution to conference › Paper

TY - CONF

T1 - Social impact bonds

T2 - the securitization of the homeless

AU - Cooper, Christine

AU - Graham, Cameron

AU - Hinick, Darlene

PY - 2015/7/8

Y1 - 2015/7/8

N2 - This paper examines the recent phenomenon of social impact bonds (SIBs). Social impact bonds are an attempt to marketize/financialize to some contemporary, intractable “social problems” (for example, homelessness and criminal recidivism). SIBs rely on a vast array of accounting technologies including budgets, future cash flows, discounting, performance measurement and auditing. As such, they represent a potentially powerful and problematic use of accounting to enact government policy. This paper contains a case study of the most recent in a series of SIBs, the London Homelessness SIB and St Mungo’s, a London-based charitable foundation. The case is designed to enable a critical reflection on the rationalities which underpin the SIB. For this, the paper draws upon Michel Foucault’s work on biopolitics and neo-liberalism. The SIB is thoroughly neoliberal in that it is constructed upon an assumption that there is no such thing as a social problem -- only individuals who fail; it transforms all participants in the bond, except the homeless themselves, into entrepreneurs. The homeless are securitised into the potential future cash flows of investors.

AB - This paper examines the recent phenomenon of social impact bonds (SIBs). Social impact bonds are an attempt to marketize/financialize to some contemporary, intractable “social problems” (for example, homelessness and criminal recidivism). SIBs rely on a vast array of accounting technologies including budgets, future cash flows, discounting, performance measurement and auditing. As such, they represent a potentially powerful and problematic use of accounting to enact government policy. This paper contains a case study of the most recent in a series of SIBs, the London Homelessness SIB and St Mungo’s, a London-based charitable foundation. The case is designed to enable a critical reflection on the rationalities which underpin the SIB. For this, the paper draws upon Michel Foucault’s work on biopolitics and neo-liberalism. The SIB is thoroughly neoliberal in that it is constructed upon an assumption that there is no such thing as a social problem -- only individuals who fail; it transforms all participants in the bond, except the homeless themselves, into entrepreneurs. The homeless are securitised into the potential future cash flows of investors.

KW - homelessness

KW - social programmes

KW - not-for-profit sector

KW - biopolitics

KW - Foucault

UR - http://business.cardiff.ac.uk/research/groups/interdisciplinary-perspectives-accounting-research-group

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M3 - Paper

ER -

Cooper C, Graham C, Hinick D. Social impact bonds: the securitization of the homeless. 2015. Paper presented at 11th Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Accounting Conference 2015, Stockholm, Sweden.

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