Abstract:

This chapter first reviews the historical background of the emergence of social finance in Western societies, and presents different types of investment methods and financial instruments. Next, it reviews the different policy measures, industry institutions, best practices and typical tools in the UK and the US. Additionally, this chapter discusses the institutional infrastructure of social finance, including governmental infrastructure, industrial infrastructure, intellectual infrastructure, as well as challenges facing social finance. Finally, it provides three recommendations to promote the development of social finance in China.