Estado, mercado e terceiro setor: A redefinição das regras do jogo

This article begins with a critical review of the theories of public goods and of contract failure in order to demonstrate that the third sector should not be seen as a by‑product of the market and the state, but rather as a means of coordinating socio‑economic activity. Taking the evolution of the third sector in Portugal as its empirical scenario, it aims to show that its increasing role in governance has resulted in the increasing diversity and complexity of socio‑economic processes, whether analysed from a microsocial or a macrosocial perspective. Due to its growing importance in socio‑economic governance, the third sector has been responsible for a redefinition of the rules of the game and a change in the actual logic of market, state and community operations.