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

The potential of the social economy for local development in Africa: An exploratory report

The social economy and its capacity to provide a positive response to both economic and social issues are attracting increasing interest from politicians and scholars. After Euricse’s guide to the social economy was published by the European Commission, the European Parliament commissioned it to produce a study on the role of the social economy in triggering sustainable local development processes in Africa. Read More

INT.RE.COOP, International Research Exchange on Cooperatives

The resilience of cooperatives has been widely acknowledged by policy and opinion makers, as well as international organizations. However, in spite of their societal relevance, the lack of understanding of the potential of cooperatives has severe policy implications in terms of insufficient political recognition and inadequate management modalities. Read More

New evolutions and regulation of worker cooperatives

The recent interest shown in cooperation between workers needs to be supported by an analysis of the situation of worker cooperation in Italy. In particular, there is interest in examining the conditions under which the management of the cooperative and the regulation of the relationship with worker-members are guaranteed to work efficiently and effectively. 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