The Productivity Effects of Worker Participation: Producer Cooperatives in Western Economies

Type of Work

Article

Date

3-1987

Journal Title

Journal of Comparative Economics

Journal ISSN

0147-5967

Journal Volume

11

Journal Issue

1

First Page

40

Last Page

61

DOI

10.1016/0147-5967(87)90040-0

Abstract

The paper presents econometric estimates of productivity effects of various forms of worker participation in Western producer cooperatives. While the effects vary across institutional settings, the overall effect is found to be positive. The positive effects are found most uniformly with respect to profit sharing and, to a slightly lesser extent, individual capital (share) ownership and participation in decision-making by workers. The size of individual worker loans to the coop is unrelated to productivity, while collective capital ownership exhibits an insignificant or a negative productivity effect.

Notes

Reprinted in:

Producer Cooperatives and Labor-Managed Systems. Edited by David L. Prychitko and Vanek Jaroslav. Cheltenham, MA: Edward Elgar, 1996.

Hamilton Areas of Study

Economics

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