PLY: Israel joins the SIB nations, Australian state of Queensland adds bonds. Happy scrolling:
Australia – Queensland Govt Launches Social Benefit Bonds
9news
Using private investors and not-for-profit groups instead of government resources to tackle social issues like homelessness is neither outsourcing nor an admission of defeat, Queensland’s treasurer says.
Curtis Pitt on Wednesday opened a discussion forum for the government’s Social Benefit Bonds pilot program, which will aim to tackle three key issues – homelessness, criminal re-offending and indigenous disadvantage – using not-for-profit providers backed by private investors.
The government will pay investors a return if the program’s outcomes are achieved from a fund that will provide $2 million over three years.
Mr. Pitt says while the initiative will reduce the initial risk and upfront cost for government, it will also encourage innovation.
Israel Launches First Ever Social Impact Bond In Field Of Higher Education
Jerusalem Post
Social Finance Israel and the Rothschild Caesarea Foundation announced the launch on Wednesday of a new social impact bond, the first of its kind in Israel in the field of higher education.
The bond aims to reduce the drop-out rate and extend the studies of computer science students in Israel, in collaboration with the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Academic College and University of Haifa.
Impact Bonds For Human Capital Investments
Arnold Packer – Brookings
Greater investment in human capital is needed for economic and social reasons. We risk years of less-than-adequate productivity growth unless a way is found to boost skills. Prospects for social mobility are also closely tied to the acquisition of the skills and mindset needed to earn a middle class income and participate as informed citizens and effective parents. Governments are already making extensive human capital investments, some more effective than others. But another way to build a ‘Learning Society’ is to draw on private capital and not just on public capital.
The idea of using private capital to make these investments is not new. “Pay for Success” programs, which may yield an attractive return by reducing prison recidivism, foster care, health costs, and other government expenditures, are now being tried around the country. Human resource bonds build on this idea but take it to scale. There is plenty of private capital around for this purpose. Big companies are holding about $5 trillion in cash, according to Forbes. Corporations are holding over $2 trillion overseas, in part to avoid U.S. taxes.