Co Operatives In A Global Economy

Author : J. J. McMurtry,Darryl Reed
Publisher : Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Page : 285 pages
File Size : 51,8 Mb
Release : 2008-12-18
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781443802550

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Co-operatives in a Global Economy by J. J. McMurtry,Darryl Reed Pdf

In their efforts to internationalize in the emerging global economy, co-operatives not only face a variety of problems that are common to all firms, but encounter specific challenges due to their particular value commitments, forms of incorporation and organizational structures. These features of cooperatives are generally seen as a major source of competitive disadvantages and may cause significant trade-offs, forcing cooperatives to choose between living up to their principles of member ownership and control and remaining economically viable. Critics argue that such trade-offs signal the increasing irrelevance of cooperatives in a global economy. Advocates, however, counter that cooperatives may have unique competitive advantages which can be exploited in a global economy and that current trade-offs facing cooperatives can be overcome with the development of new international and transnational cooperative institutions and practices. Cooperatives, they claim, represent a much more sustainable and equitable form of production and may form the basis for viable, alternative approaches to development. This collection examines these debates about the roles of cooperatives in our increasingly global economy.

Author : Tapas R. Dash
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
Page : 293 pages
File Size : 49,6 Mb
Release : 2021-05-19
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9781498555234

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Cooperatives in the Global Economy by Tapas R. Dash Pdf

Cooperatives in the Global Economy presents a unique collection of research-based chapters contributed by leading social and economic thinkers that provide critical insights into how the cooperative business model meets the challenges of the complex global problems in today’s competitive economy. Apart from theoretical arguments in favor of the value-based cooperative business model, this book presents the performance indicators of various forms of cooperatives, their potentialities, and challenges they face across borders. The contributors reexamine how cooperatives empower the marginalized population of the world by bringing them into the mainstream of socio-economic activities through creating employment opportunities, working towards alleviation of poverty, ensuring for more equitable distribution of scarce resources, and providing the basis for a sustainable economy and its meaningful growth. Today, in the global competitive economy, the challenges for cooperatives are enormous due to their particular value commitments, forms of incorporation, and organizational structures. In spite of the presence of several challenges, cooperatives promote economic growth and social justice. In this context, this book also presents the critical roles of cooperatives in balancing economic, social, and environmental concerns to build a better, equitable, and sustainable world.

Author : Tom Webb,Sonja Novkovic
Publisher : Zed Books Ltd.
Page : 270 pages
File Size : 53,5 Mb
Release : 2014-10-09
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9781783600809

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Co-operatives in a Post-Growth Era by Tom Webb,Sonja Novkovic Pdf

For the past three decades, neoclassical doctrine has dominated economic theory and policy. The balance of power has shifted to protect private interests, resulting in unprecedented damage to the environment and society, with no solution in sight as more austerity and less government continues to be posited as the answer to the oncoming waves of crisis. It doesn't have to be this way. Featuring a remarkable roster of internationally renowned critical thinkers, Co-operatives in a Post-Growth Era presents a feasible alternative for a more environmentally sustainable and equitable economic system - specifically, the co-operative business model. With more than 100 million people working in co-operatives and more than a billion members around the world, the time has never been better for co-operatives everywhere to recognise their potential to change the economic landscape. An essential book for students, policymakers and concerned citizens looking for a practical way to change the current stagnant economic paradigm.

Author : Kimberly M. Grimes,Barbara Lynne Milgram
Publisher : University of Arizona Press
Page : 220 pages
File Size : 47,7 Mb
Release : 2000-11
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 0816520887

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Artisans and Cooperatives by Kimberly M. Grimes,Barbara Lynne Milgram Pdf

With new markets opening up for goods produced by artisans from all parts of the world, craft commercialization and craft industries have become key components of local economies. Now with the emergence of the Fair Trade movement and public opposition to sweatshop labor, many people are demanding that artisans in third world countries not be exploited for their labor. Bringing together case studies from the Americas and Asia, this timely collection of articles addresses the interplay among subsistence activities, craft production, and the global market. It contributes to current debates on economic inequality by offering practical examples of the political, economic, and cultural issues surrounding artisan production as an expressive vehicle of ethnic and gender identity. Striking a balance between economic and ethnographic analyses, the contributors observe what has worked and what hasn't in a range of craft cooperatives and show how some artisans have expanded their entrepreneurial role by marketing crafts in addition to producing them. Among the topics discussed are the accommodation of craft traditions in the global market, fair trade issues, and the emerging role of the anthropologist as a proactive agent for artisan groups. As the gap between rich and poor widens, the fate of subsistence economies seems more and more uncertain. The artisans in this book show that people can and do employ innovative opportunities to develop their talents, and in the process strengthen their ethnic identities. Contents Introduction: Facing the Challenges of Artisan Production in the Global Market / Kimberly M. Grimes and B. Lynne Milgram Democratizing International Production and Trade: North American Alternative Trading Organizations / Kimberly M. Grimes Building on Local Strengths: Nepalese Fair Trade Textiles / Rachel MacHenry "That They Be in the Middle, Lord": Women, Weaving, and Cultural Survival in Highland Chiapas, Mexico / Christine E. Eber The International Craft Market: A Double-Edged Sword for Guatemalan Maya Women / Martha Lynd Of Women, Hope, and Angels: Fair Trade and Artisan Production in a Squatter Settlement in Guatemala City / Brenda Rosenbaum Reorganizing Textile Production for the Global Market: WomenÕs Craft Cooperatives in Ifugao, Upland Philippines / B. Lynne Milgram Textile Production in Rural Oaxaca, Mexico, and the Complexities of the Global Market for Handmade Crafts / Jeffrey H. Cohen "Part-Time for Pin Money": The Legacy of Navajo WomenÕs Craft Production / Kathy MÕCloskey The Hard Sell: Anthropologists as Brokers of Crafts in the Global Marketplace / Andrew Causey Postscript: To Market, To Market / June Nash

Author : Bruno Roelants,Hyungsik Eum,Simel Esim,Sonja Novkovic,Waltteri Katajamäki
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 260 pages
File Size : 49,8 Mb
Release : 2019-07-16
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9781000012071

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Cooperatives and the World of Work by Bruno Roelants,Hyungsik Eum,Simel Esim,Sonja Novkovic,Waltteri Katajamäki Pdf

As the world of work and jobs is more uncertain than ever because of various trends impacting it, including the rise of robotics and the gig economy, Cooperatives and the World of Work furthers the debate on the future of work, sustainable development, and the social and solidarity economy of which cooperatives are a fundamental component. Throughout the book, the authors, who are experts in their respective fields, do not limit themselves to praising the advantages of the cooperative model. Rather, they challenge the narrow understanding of cooperatives as a mere business model and raise debate on the more fundamental role that cooperatives play in responding to social changes and in changing society itself. The book is unique in tracing the historical connection between cooperatives and the world of work since the end of the First World War and the recent shifts and restructuring in enterprise and the workplace. It presents a redefinition of the very concept of work, focusing on organizational innovation. This book is published in recognition of 100 years of the International Labour Organization, and gathers together research from leading experts who were brought together at an event co-hosted by the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) and the International Labour Organization (ILO).

Author : John Restakis
Publisher : New Society Publishers
Page : 305 pages
File Size : 54,7 Mb
Release : 2010-09-01
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9781550924619

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Humanizing the Economy by John Restakis Pdf

How the largest social movement in history is making the world a better place. At the close of the twentieth century, corporate capitalism extended its reach over the globe. While its defenders argue that globalization is the only way forward for modern, democratic societies, the spread of this system is failing to meet even the most basic needs of billions of individuals around the world. Moreover, the entrenchment of this free market system is undermining the foundations of healthy societies, caring communities, and personal wellbeing. Humanizing the Economy shows how co-operative models for economic and social development can create a more equitable, just, and humane future. With over 800 million members in 85 countries and a long history linking economic to social values, the co-operative movement is the most powerful grassroots movement in the world. Its future as an alternative to corporate capitalism is explored through a wide range of real-world examples including: Emilia Romagna's co-operative economy of in Northern Italy Argentina's recovered factory movement Japan's consumer and health co-operatives Highlighting the hopes and struggles of everyday people seeking to make their world a better place, Humanizing the Economy is essential reading for anyone who cares about the reform of economics, globalization, and social justice. John Restakis has been active in the co-op movement for 15 years. He is the Executive Director of the BC Co-operative Association and has been a consultant for co-op development projects in Africa and Asia. A pioneering researcher on co-operative economies, he writes and lectures on economic democracy and the role of co-operatives in humanizing economies.

Author : Piero Ammirato
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 228 pages
File Size : 47,7 Mb
Release : 2018-04-27
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9781351657600

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The Growth of Italian Cooperatives by Piero Ammirato Pdf

The Italian Cooperative Sector is amongst the largest in the world comprising over 60,000 cooperatives from all sectors of the economy directly employing 1.3 million people. Cooperatives created close to 30 percent of new jobs in Italy between 2001 and 2011 demonstrating that democratic cooperative enterprises can successfully operate in a market economy combining economic success and social responsibility. These offer a viable alternative to profit maximising enterprises and an opportunity to create a more pluralist and democratic market economy. The Growth of Italian Cooperatives: Innovation, Resilience and Social Responsibility comprehensively explains how the Italian cooperative sector has managed to compete successfully in the global economy and to grow during the global financial crisis. This book will comprehensively explain how the Italian cooperative movement has managed to grow into a large successful network of cooperatives. It will examine the legislative framework and their unique business model that allows it to compete in the market as part of a network that includes central cooperative associations, financial and economic consortia, and financial companies. It will explore cooperative entrepreneurship through a discussion of the formation of cooperative groups, start-ups, worker-buyouts and the promotion of entirely new sectors such as the social services sector. Finally, The Growth of Italian Cooperatives examines how cooperatives have managed the GFC and how their behavior differs from private enterprises. It will also analyze the extent to which cooperatives compete while still uphold the key cooperative principles and fulfil their social responsibility. This book is an interdisciplinary study of cooperative development and is designed to inform members of the academic community, government, public policy makers and cooperative managers that are primarily interested in economic democracy, economics of the cooperative enterprise, cooperative networks and economic development, cooperative legislation, democratic governance, job creation programs, politics of inclusion and how wealth can be more equitably distributed.

Author : Greg Patmore,Nikola Balnave
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 248 pages
File Size : 47,9 Mb
Release : 2018-04-17
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9781317270201

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A Global History of Co-operative Business by Greg Patmore,Nikola Balnave Pdf

Co-operatives provide a different approach to organizing business through their ideals of member ownership and democratic practice. Every co-operative member has an equal vote regardless of his or her own personal capital investment. The contemporary significance of co-operatives was highlighted by the United Nations declaration of 2012 as the International Year of Co-operatives. This book provides an international perspective on the development of co-operatives since the mid-nineteenth century, exploring the economic, political, and social factors that explain their varying fortunes and transformation into different forms. By looking at what co-operatives are; how they have changed; the developments as well as the persecutions of the co-operative movement; and how it is an important force in promoting development and self-sufficiency in non-industrialized areas, this book provides valuable insight not only to academics, but also to practitioners and policy makers.

Author : Simeon Karafolas,Roger Spear,Yohanan Stryjan
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 500 pages
File Size : 45,7 Mb
Release : 2004
Category : Business enterprises
ISBN : 9602868201

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Local Society & Global Economy by Simeon Karafolas,Roger Spear,Yohanan Stryjan Pdf

Author : Jessica Gordon Nembhard
Publisher : Penn State Press
Page : 325 pages
File Size : 49,9 Mb
Release : 2015-06-13
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9780271064260

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Collective Courage by Jessica Gordon Nembhard Pdf

In Collective Courage, Jessica Gordon Nembhard chronicles African American cooperative business ownership and its place in the movements for Black civil rights and economic equality. Not since W. E. B. Du Bois’s 1907 Economic Co-operation Among Negro Americans has there been a full-length, nationwide study of African American cooperatives. Collective Courage extends that story into the twenty-first century. Many of the players are well known in the history of the African American experience: Du Bois, A. Philip Randolph and the Ladies' Auxiliary to the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, Nannie Helen Burroughs, Fannie Lou Hamer, Ella Jo Baker, George Schuyler and the Young Negroes’ Co-operative League, the Nation of Islam, and the Black Panther Party. Adding the cooperative movement to Black history results in a retelling of the African American experience, with an increased understanding of African American collective economic agency and grassroots economic organizing. To tell the story, Gordon Nembhard uses a variety of newspapers, period magazines, and journals; co-ops’ articles of incorporation, minutes from annual meetings, newsletters, budgets, and income statements; and scholarly books, memoirs, and biographies. These sources reveal the achievements and challenges of Black co-ops, collective economic action, and social entrepreneurship. Gordon Nembhard finds that African Americans, as well as other people of color and low-income people, have benefitted greatly from cooperative ownership and democratic economic participation throughout the nation’s history.

Author : Chris Rowley,Jonathan Michie
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 200 pages
File Size : 43,6 Mb
Release : 2017-10-02
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9781317534136

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Mutual, Cooperative and Employee-Owned Businesses in the Asia Pacific by Chris Rowley,Jonathan Michie Pdf

The 25 years leading up to the international financial crisis have been depicted as ‘capitalism unleashed’, containing deregulation, privatisation, demutualisation and financialisation. Yet remarkably, given this economic and political context, co-operatives and mutuals appear to have been gaining ground in many countries, albeit modestly, even before the international financial crisis and the resulting global recession, from which the global economy is still only slowly recovering. The 2007-2008 international financial crisis called into question how appropriate the shareholder-owned model is, certainly if it is allowed to dominate the financial services sector. However the International Co-operative Alliance is determined to make the mutual and co-operative sector of the economy a dynamic, sustainable and increasingly important sector of the global economy. This book looks at the contribution of co-operative, mutual and employee-owned firms to the Asia Pacific economy - both currently and prospectively – and the challenges the standard ‘Western’ model faces regarding employment and output. It also looks at the role of Governments, the nature of co-operatives in China and the role of the state, and the future prospects for cross-border growth of co-operative and mutual business within Asia Pacific, and more widely. This book was originally published as a Special Issue of Asia Pacific Business Review.

Author : Stefano Zamagni,Vera Zamagni
Publisher : Edward Elgar Publishing
Page : 117 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 2010-01-01
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781849805667

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Cooperative Enterprise by Stefano Zamagni,Vera Zamagni Pdf

'Cooperatives stem from interchanges in day-to-day life; and have the capacity to extend their reach to cover economic exchanges across time and space. They offer a complementary form of relationships to the ones economists typically study and favour. A culmination of years of research, this book quite magnificently explains and persuasively advocates a much neglected institution.' Sir Partha Dasgupta, University of Cambridge, UK This eloquent book analyses the theory of the cooperative form of enterprise from an historic perspective, whilst assessing its appeal in the current economic environment. The authors show that cooperatives are enterprises acting in harmony in the market economy, and explore the following questions: How do cooperatives achieve solidarity in keeping together elements normally considered in conflict? Why is the cooperative enterprise not as widespread as the capitalist enterprise? What is its appeal in the present conditions of crisis of the world economy? Alongside other related issues, the volume also discusses the theoretical foundations of the cooperative enterprise and offers an overview of the historical development of the cooperative movement around the world. Special reference is made to the Italian case, which is scarcely known within the international milieu. Broad in scope whilst concise in elucidation, this book will be invaluable to students enrolled in economic, social, historical and political curricula, as well as leaders of the cooperative movement. People interested in finding a practical alternative to the capitalist form of enterprise will also find this book enriching.

Author : C. Gijselinckx,L. Zhao,S. Novkovic
Publisher : Springer
Page : 292 pages
File Size : 47,5 Mb
Release : 2014-07-16
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781137277282

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Co-operative Innovations in China and the West by C. Gijselinckx,L. Zhao,S. Novkovic Pdf

This book aims to contribute to our understanding of recent changes in Chinese and Western cooperatives. It will provide a variety of audiences with relevant and useful information for further co-operative development, mutual understanding and cooperation.

Author : Claudia Sanchez Bajo,Bruno Roelants
Publisher : Springer
Page : 284 pages
File Size : 49,5 Mb
Release : 2011-08-30
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9780230308527

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Capital and the Debt Trap by Claudia Sanchez Bajo,Bruno Roelants Pdf

The financial crisis is destroying wealth but is also a remarkable opportunity to uncover the ways by which debt can be used to regulate the economic system. This book uses four case studies of cooperatives to give an in-depth analysis on how they have braved the crisis and continued to generate wealth.

Author : Tim Mazzarol,Elena Mamouni Limnios
Publisher : Tilde Publishing and Distribution
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 50,8 Mb
Release : 2013
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 0734611846

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Co-operatives in the Fourth Sector by Tim Mazzarol,Elena Mamouni Limnios Pdf

Co-operatives and mutual businesses are amongst the oldest and most enduring in the world. They comprise some of the largest business enterprises, take a wide variety of forms, and operate within many different industries. And yet, co-operatives have a lot in common - including a democratic model of governance and their member-owned structure. This book contributes to the development of a better understanding of a co-operative and mutual business, and how the member-focused nature of the co-operatives is the fundamental driver of their success. Part I deals with the governance and financing of co-operatives. Part II includes two international cases that explore the significance of delivering member value to ensure co-operatives sustainability. Part III examines the potential contribution of co-operatives in developing economies. Drawn from the research of a cross-section of international scholars, this work was a collaborative project between The University of Western Australia and Co-operatives WA. Accoring to the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, co-operatives are a reminder to the international community that it is possible to pursue both economic viability and social responsibility.