Cooperatives
A co-operative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise. 1
Cooperatives, based on the one member one vote principle, often provide a means for distributing goods and services among members and to the public.
General Cooperative Resources
Information and theory about cooperatives, including centers for cooperatives.
- University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives (UWCC)UWCC provides original research, holds an annual conference on cooperatives, and gives background information on different sectors.
- Center for the Study of Co-operatives: University of SaskatchewanA list of papers available for download or purchase.
- Research on the Impact of US CooperativesLinks to PDF files in the UWCC report. The project is also available to read online.
- Cooperative Development InstituteThe northeastern center for cooperatives. Includes a Q&A style navigation.
- North American Students of Cooperation (NASCO)A training organization for members of cooperatives. The Shared Resource Library includes member-produced documents.
- International Co-Operative Alliance: Statement on the Co-Operative IdentityDefinition, values, and principles of the cooperatives.
- Curriculum on Cooperatives for Graduate Schools Wiki
Provides graduate level curricula on cooperatives in a wiki-format.
- Cooperative Firms in Theory and in Practice
Discussion of the structure, role, governance, problems, and future of cooperatives.
- The Formation of Cooperatives: A Game Theoretic Approach with Implications for Cooperative Finance Decision Making and StabilityA quantitative study of the formation of cooperatives based on game theory.
- Understanding New Cooperative Models: An Ownership-Control Rights TypologyA description of various cooperative models.
- Cooperatives EuropeThe European region of the International Cooperative Alliance.
Food and Producer Cooperatives
- Coop Directory Listing"The Coop Directory Service is an online source of information about natural food co-ops."
- Participation, Profit Sharing, Worker Ownership and Efficiency in Italian Producer Cooperatives"This paper analyses the productivity effects of worker participation in management, profit-sharing and worker ownership."
- Building Co-ops, Constructing Cooperation: Spatial Strategies and Development Politics in a Mexican VillageStudy of a Mexican Village with a divide between coop members and non-members.
Worker Cooperatives
- US Federation of Worker CooperativesThe United States Federation of Worker Cooperatives is a national grassroots membership organization of and for worker cooperatives, democratic workplaces, and organizations that support the growth and development of worker cooperatives.
- The Behavior of Worker Cooperatives: The Plywood Companies of the Pacific NorthwestAnalysis of economic decisions and profit in worker cooperatives.
- Why are Worker Cooperatives So Rare?"This paper argues that worker cooperatives are prone to redistribution among members, and that this redistribution distorts incentives."
- Mondragon Corporation[es][eu][fr][de]Includes cooperatives, non-cooperative businesses, and other bodies.
- Evergreen CooperativesCooperatives in Cleveland, OH, based on the Mondragon system.
Artist Cooperatives
- Asian Arts Initiative: Core ValuesMotivating principles for the Asian Arts Initiative.
- Highwire GalleryHistory of a Philadelphia artist cooperative.
- Space 1026About a Philadelphia artist cooperative.
- Vox Populi GalleryBackground on the Vox Populi artist cooperative.
- Visit to a women's handicraft cooperativeAbout "a women's co-operative founded in 1984 for the welfare of disadvantaged women and children."
Child and Healthcare Cooperatives
- The Saint-Camille Care and Services Solidarity Co-operative and Its Impact on Social CohesionThe paper aims "to characterize the impact of the Coop de solidarité en soins et services de Saint-Camille’s activities on the community using the five dimensions pertaining to social cohesion — territoriality, accessibility of services, employability, democracy, and connectivity."
- Care and the Extension of MarketsAnalysis of care work and marketization.
- The Saint-Camille Co-operative Initiatives Home Care, Housing and Rural Development"This case study looks at how a small rural community in Québec has aimed to reverse the trend of rural de-population, and rebuild services and economic opportunities for local people."
- Research on the Economic Impact of Cooperatives from UWCCHistory and background on healthcare cooperatives.
- Healthcare Cooperatives from UWCCLinks to healthcare cooperative information.
- Women describe SEWA, the Self-Employed Women's Association in India that facilitates banking, childcare, schooling and other public services for its members(Self explanatory)
Bibliography
Chaddad, Fabio R., and Michael L. Cook. 2004. Understanding New Cooperative Models: An Ownership-Control Rights Typology. Review of Agricultural Economics 26, no. 3: 348 - 360.
Craig, Ben, and John Pencavel. 1992. The Behavior of Worker Cooperatives: The Plywood Companies of the Pacific Northwest. The American Economic Review 82, no. 5: 1083 - 1105.
Hansmann, H. 1999. Cooperative firms in theory and practice. LTA.
Held, Virginia. 2002. Care and the Extension of Markets. Hypatia 17, no. 2: 19 - 33.
Isaacs, Shafika, Ayesha Bombaywala, Ranjan Desai, Ramilah Parmar, Champa Patni, Manali Shah, et al. Banking on Self-Employment.
Jones, Derek C., and Jan Svejnar. 1985. Participation, Profit Sharing, Worker Ownership and Efficiency in Italian Producer Cooperatives. Economica, New Series 52, no. 208: 449 - 465.
Kremer, M. 1997. Why are worker cooperatives so rare?. NBER Working Paper.
Langlois, Genevieve. The Saint-Camille Care and Services Solidarity Co-operative. usaskstudies.coop.
Majee, Wilson, and Ann Hoyt, "Are worker-owned cooperatives the brewing pots for social capital?" Community Development 41, no. 4 (2010): 417-430.
Mercado, Rosa C. 2009. Solidarity economy and the cooperative experience. Center for Labor and Grassroots Initiatives, University of the Philippines School of Labor and Industrial Relations ; in cooperation with Union Network International-Asia Pacific.
Merrett, Christopher D., and Norman Walzer. 2004. Cooperatives and Local Development: Theory and Applications for the 21st Century. M.E. Sharpe.
Mutersbaugh, Tad. 2002. Building Co-ops, Constructing Cooperation: Spatial Strategies and Development Politics in a Mexican Village. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 92, no. 4: 756 - 776.
Schilthuis, Gijs, and Onno-Frank van Bekkum. 2000. Agricultural cooperatives in Central Europe: trends and issues in ... Uitgeverij Van Gorcum.
Sexton, Richard J. 1986. The Formation of Cooperatives: A Game-Theoretic Approach with Implications for Cooperative Finance, ... American Journal of Agricultural Economics 68, no. 2: 214 - 225.
Whyte, William Foote, and Kathleen King Whyte. 1991. Making Mondragon: the growth and dynamics of the worker cooperative complex. Cornell University Press.