The Phoenix Economy

From the ashes of the downturn, a new economy is self-assembling—focused on providing social and environmental solutions, where markets and governments have failed.

If the pioneers of the Phoenix Economy are to succeed, they will still need substantial assistance from governments, foundations, investors and businesses, and we identify urgent opportunities for facilitation, collaboration and support. Download the report: The Phoenix Economy.

We also celebrate a roll call of ‘The Phoenix 50’ pioneers in the business of social innovation, nominated by entrepreneurs and other stakeholders.

Twentieth century capitalism was driven by alternating ‘Bull’ and ‘Bear’ markets, and the twenty-first century’s first decade (2000-2009) has seen the collapse of the greatest Bull market in history. By contrast, a very different oscillation is now emerging as a driver of political, economic and business priorities. We expect the coming decades to see growing competition between ‘Dragon’ and ‘Phoenix’ models of wealth creation, superimposed upon—not replacing—traditional Bull and Bear dynamics

The Bull and Bear fight it out in a single bottom line world. Both tend to be short term in focus. By contrast, Dragon and Phoenix mindsets tend to be longer term in orientation. Dragon markets, particularly China’s (until-recently-booming) economy, are often based on longish term planning, but are powered by business models and value chains that largely follow the path of Western industrialization, and—as a result—are likely to be increasingly taxed by environmental and natural resource constraints.

To date, Dragon economies have focused, at best, on a double bottom line of economic growth and the maintenance of sufficient social cohesion to keep the national locomotive on the rails. The Phoenix Economy, by contrast, blurs across national borders and works to integrate the triple bottom line of economic, social and environmental value added into its DNA—as a triple helix of change and new growth.

We are pleased to be collaborating with the Lien Centre for Social Innovation in launching the Phoenix Economy Asia project to further the social entrepreneurship sphere in Asia.