Quantifying cooperatives and social enterprises in Italy
Project status: on-going
Description
The persisting economic crisis highlights the fact that in order to identify strategies for putting Italy back on the path of economic and occupational growth, it is necessary to carefully evaluate the potential contribution rendered from each sector, and in particular from various forms of enterprise.
Bearing this in mind, this research project is particularly timely and relevant. Euricse began working on this project several years ago with the aim of mapping the various forms and sectors of activity within the Italian cooperative landscape. The analysis focuses on the economic and occupational dimensions of the sector and the characteristics of the employees, as well as their evolution over time, through the development of economic and financial performance indicators coherent with the nature of these enterprises.
Objectives
The project aims to provide an in-depth, updated and precise description of the economic and occupational impact of the Italian cooperative sector by providing statistical analysis quantifying the capacity of Italian cooperative enterprises to generate revenues and jobs, considering both the current scenario and the evolution of the sector over time. Particular attention is devoted to a comparative analysis of the performance of cooperative enterprises relative to that of shareholder corporations.
The study will also focus on new models of cooperative and social enterprises in order to verify the capacity of these organizations to respond to emerging needs and to innovate in terms of both product development and production processes.
The research is developed in collaboration with the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) within the research agreement “Dimensions, evolution and characteristics of the social economy”.
Main results
Over the years, Euricse has produced in-depth statistical analysis of data regarding the descriptive, economic, financial, sectorial and occupational characteristics of cooperatives.
The research activities have centered on data analysis for the period 2006-2014, with a specific focus on cooperatives’ resilience during the crisis. Economic and employment data confirms that cooperative enterprises, in various sectors of economic activity, maintained an anti-cyclical nature, recording growth during a period when other business forms slowed or decreased their value-added.
Publications
Articles on magazines included in the ranking
Costa, E. & Carini, C. (2015), “Northern and southern Italian social cooperatives during the economic crisis: a multiple factor analysis”, Service Business (published online 15 March 2015): 1-2. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11628-015-0274-1
Carini, C. & Borzaga, C. (2015), La cooperazione sociale: rilevanza economica ed occupazionale e sua evoluzione tra il 2008 ed il 2013, Quaderni di Economia del Lavoro, Fascicolo 103/2015: 34-48. Milano: Franco Angeli. DOI: 10.3280/QUA2015-103003
Costa, E., Andreaus, M., Carini, C. & Carpita, M. (2012), Exploring the efficiency of Italian Social Cooperatives by descriptive and principal component analysis, Service Business, 6(1): 117-136. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11628-011-0131-9
Articles on refereed magazines not included in the ranking
Costa, E., Carini, C. & Borzaga, C. (2103), An assessment of cooperatives in Italy: economic and occupational insights in 2008, Journal of Co-operative Accounting and Reporting, 2(1): 37-52.
Carini, C. & Carpita, M. (2012), Una fotografia statistica delle cooperative sociali italiane, Statistica & Società, 1(2): 16-20.
Books
Borzaga, C. (a cura di) (2017), Dimensioni ed evoluzione dell’economia cooperativa italiana nel 2014. Aggiornamento del terzo Rapporto Euricse. Trento: Euricse.
Brown, L., Carini, C., Gordon-Nembhard, J., Hammond Ketilson, L., Hicks, E., McNamara, J., Novkovic, S., Rixon D. and Simmons, R. (Eds.) (2015), Co-operatives for Sustainable Communities – Tools to Measure Co-operative Impact and Performance. Saskatchewan, Canada: Co-operatives and Mutual Canada & Centre for the Study of Co-operatives.
Borzaga, C. (a cura di) (2015), Economia cooperativa. Rilevanza, evoluzione e nuove frontiere della cooperazione italiana. Terzo rapporto Euricse 2015. Trento: Euricse.
Euricse (2013), Secondo rapporto Euricse sulla cooperazione in Italia. La cooperazione italiana negli anni della crisi. Trento: Euricse, ISBN: 978-88-906729-1-0.
Euricse (2011) Primo Rapporto Euricse sulla Cooperazione in Italia. Trento: Euricse.
Book chapters
Borzaga, C. Calzaroni, M. & Lori M. (2016). L’impresa sociale nei dati censuari. In: G.P. Barbetta, G. Ecchia & N. Zamaro (a cura di), Le istituzioni nonprofit in Italia. Dieci anni dopo. Bologna: Il Mulino.
Borzaga, C. Carini, C. Carpita, M. & Lori, M. (2016). Uno sguardo oltre i confini del censimento: dimensioni e caratteristiche dell’economia sociale. In: G.P. Barbetta, G. Ecchia & N. Zamaro (a cura di), Le istituzioni nonprofit in Italia. Dieci anni dopo. Bologna: Il Mulino.
Carini, C. (2012), Appendice metodologica. Linee guida per la progettazione di una banca dati sulle imprese sociali. In: P. Ventiru & F. Zandonai (a cura di), Rapporto Iris Network. L’impresa sociale in Italia. Pluralità dei modelli e contributo alla ripresa. Milano: Altreconomia Edizioni, pp. 257-262.
Costa, E. & Carini, C. (2012), La consistenza della cooperazione sociale. In: P. Venturi & F. Zandonai (a cura di), Rapporto Iris Network. L’impresa sociale in Italia. Pluralità dei modelli e contributo alla ripresa. Milano: Altreconomia Edizioni, pp. 137-152.
Mauriello, D. & Carini C. (2012), Il quadro d’insieme e le tendenze dell’evoluzione recente. In: P. Venturi & F. Zandonai (a cura di), Rapporto Iris Network. L’impresa sociale in Italia. Pluralità dei modelli e contributo alla ripresa. Milano: Altreconomia Edizioni, pp. 29-54.
Costa, E. & Carini, C. (2011), La consistenza della cooperazione sociale. In: P. Venturi & F. Zandonai (a cura di), L’impresa sociale in Italia. Pluralità di modelli e contributi alla ripresa. Reggio Emilia: Diabasis Edizioni, pp. 143-158.
Working papers and other articles
Carini, C. & Costa, E. (2013), Exploring the performance of social cooperatives during the economic crisis: the Italian case, Euricse Working Papers, 59|13. Trento: Euricse.
Borzaga, C., Carini, C. & Zandonai F. (2014), La rilevanza dell’economia sociale in Italia, Osservatorio Isfol IV(3-4): 59-79.
Andreaus, M., Carini, C., Carpita, M. & Costa, E. (2012), La cooperazione sociale in Italia: un’overview, Euricse Working Papers, 27|12. Trento: Euricse.
Borzaga, C., Carini, C., Costa, E., Carpita, M. & Andreaus, M. (2012), Cooperation in Italy in 2008, Euricse Working Papers, 26|12. Trento: Euricse. Disponibile anche in italiano: La cooperazione in Italia nel 2008.
Carini, C., Costa, E., Carpita, M. & Andreaus, M. (2012), The Italian Social Cooperatives in 2008: A Portrait Using Descriptive and Principal Component Analysis, Euricse Working Papers, 35|12. Trento: Euricse.
Fontanari, E. & Borzaga, C. (2010), L’impatto economico della cooperazione in provincia di Trento, Euricse Working Papers, 09|10. Trento: Euricse.
Publications of a divulgative nature
Fontanari, E. (2016). Coop sociali, cresce la pressione fiscale, Cooperazione trentina, marzo, p. 40.
Fontanari, E. (2016), Le coop investono più delle spa (anche in periodo di crisi), Cooperazione trentina, marzo, p. 41.
Fontanari E., Borzaga C. (2016), Analisi della pressione fiscale sulle diverse forme d’impresa: un approfondimento, Euricse Facts&Comments, 13 gennaio 2016.
Fontanari E., Borzaga C. (2016), Le cooperative investono? Un confronto con le spa durante la crisi, Euricse Facts&Comments, 16 febbraio 2016.
Fontanari, E. (2015), Tasse, il confronto tra coop e spa accantona i preconcetti, Cooperazione Trentina, 2: 38-39.
Partners
Istituto Nazionale di Statistica – Istat