The future of work

Gianluca Salvatori The future of work. The belief that long-term automation creates as many jobs as it destroys is currently wavering. For some years now, we have witnessed a phenomenon that gives cause for concern when it comes to employment. New technologies are now replacing features that until recently were not considered automatable. The future of work has never been so difficult to predict. It may seem like an unsubstantiated allegation: after all, on other occasions in the past, we have gone through high-impact changes that have substantially altered the forms and the ways we work. It happened with the transition from agriculture to modern industry, and again during every industrial revolution. However, every time the emergence of new jobs - in sectors other than those where technological innovation has developed, because the "income effect" overtook that of substitution - has ended up compensating, in the medium to long term, for the loss of traditional activities - such as blacksmith or horse groomer - caused by the introduction of new technologies. More often than not, the quality of the working conditions actually improved; until now, in fact, the new jobs that have replaced the ones destroyed have been generally better and more well-paid than those replaced by innovation. Read More

Do Co-operatives Really Pay Less in Taxes?

One of the most widespread ideas about co-operatives is that they enjoy a more advantageous tax regime relative to other enterprises. As a result, at least in the public’s eye, they would not only contribute less to public finances, but also benefit from an unfair competitive advantage vis à vis shareholder corporations. Read More

WCM | Exploring the co-operative economy – Report 2014

Quebec City, October 2014. The International Co-operative Alliance (the Alliance) - with the scientific and technical support of the European Research Institute on Cooperative and Social Enterprises (Euricse) - launches the 2014 report of its global statistical project: The World Co-operative Monitor. Read More

Cooperation in Italy during the crisis years

Second Euricse report – executive summary by Carlo BorzagaAs the economic crisis continues, it is becoming increasingly evident that in order to identify strategies to put Italy back on a path of economic growth it is necessary to carefully evaluate the potential contributions of every sector, every public and private institution, and from all types of enterprises including cooperatives and social enterprises. Recent census data from The National Institute for Statistics (Istat) shows a great diversification of enterprise forms in Italy over the decade from 2001 to 2011, with cooperative enterprises and, more generally, not-for-profit organizations growing at a faster rate than other types of businesses, either public or private. Consequently, understanding the existence and characteristics of cooperative enterprises should no longer be considered of interest solely to a limited number of scholars or representative organizations of the cooperative movement. Rather, this type of research now has broader implications and should be undertaken with renewed commitment. Read More

WCM | Exploring the co-operative economy, Report 2013

Cape Town, November 2013. The International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) - with the scientific and technical support of Euricse - launches the 2013 report of its global statistical project: The World Co-operative Monitor. In this new edition the Report have been enriched with a new feature: a ranking list based on ratio turnover on the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. Read More

World Co-operative Monitor: Explorative report 2012

The International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) - with the scientific and technical support of Euricse - launched a new project: The World Co-operative Monitor. Thanks to the support of Crédit Coopératif, the Desjardins Group, the Indian Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO), Organização das Cooperativas Brasileiras (OCB), and The Co-operative Group, this project aims to monitor and demonstrate the economic and social impact of the largest cooperative and mutual organizations worldwide. Read More

Commissioner Michel Barnier’s reply to the appeal on the importance of cooperative banks for Europe’s economic recovery and growth

Euricse Facts&Comments comment by Giovanni Ferri (University of Bari)Commissioner Michel Barnier replied in lieu of President Manuel Barroso to the Appeal in favour of cooperative banks that was sent last spring. The Appeal was endorsed by a large number of scholars from many countries. Overall, 177 scholars from 20 countries signed the Appeal: Austria (2 scholars), Belgium (2), Canada (4), Croatia (1), Czech Republic (1), Finland (4), France (2), Germany (3), Greece (2), Israel (1), Italy (53), Poland (2), Portugal (6), Senegal (1), Slovenia (2), Spain (76), Sweden (2), UK (9), Uruguay (1), USA (3). Read More

Cooperatives and s.p.a. corporations in Trentino compared: value added and income generated from 2006-2010

In recent years various scholars and representatives of important institutions have sustained that cooperatives have responded better to the crisis than other forms of enterprises. The resiliency of the cooperative model has been interpreted as the consequence of their different nature, in particular their orientation towards the satisfaction of a need rather than the distribution of profits. This particularity, it is suggested, pushes cooperatives to maintain production levels even under conditions of reduced or negative revenue. Read More