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Structure and Performance of Italian Cooperatives: A Quantitative Analysis Based on Combined Use of Official Data

Author

Listed:
  • Carlo Borzaga

    (University of Trento; European Research Institute on Cooperative and Social Enterprises (Euricse), Trento, Italy)

  • Manlio Calzaroni

    (Expert in statistics; former Director at the Italian National Institute of Statistics (Istat), Rome, Italy)

  • Chiara Carini

    (European Research Institute on Cooperative and Social Enterprises (Euricse), Trento, Italy)

  • Massimo Lori

    (Italian National Institute of Statistics (Istat), Rome, Italy)

Abstract

Researchers and policymakers have identified the need to accurately and quantitatively evaluate cooperatives and their economic, social and employment effects, as well as their evolution over time, in a way that is as reliable as possible and not subject to interpretation. This need was also manifested in the adoption by the 20th International Conference of Labour Statisticians of the Guidelines Concerning Statistics of Cooperatives, which aim to facilitate the development of a set of statistics on cooperatives that can be compared at the international level. This study provides informative insights and analyses based on a unified statistical representation of the structure, economic performance and profiles of cooperatives—including cooperative groups— within the Italian economy. Through the integration of several official statistical data sources released by the Italian National Institute of Statistics with the Cooperative Register managed by the Ministry of Economic Development, on the one hand, the paper highlights the peculiarities of cooperatives compared to other companies; on the other, it deeply analyses the composition of the cooperative sector with respect to both economic and structural variables.

Suggested Citation

  • Carlo Borzaga & Manlio Calzaroni & Chiara Carini & Massimo Lori, 2019. "Structure and Performance of Italian Cooperatives: A Quantitative Analysis Based on Combined Use of Official Data," Journal of Entrepreneurial and Organizational Diversity, European Research Institute on Cooperative and Social Enterprises, vol. 8(1), pages 65-83.
    • Handle: RePEc:trn:csnjrn:v:8:i:1:p:65-83
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Leonardo BECCHETTI & Fabio PISANI, 2015. "The Determinants of Outreach Performance of Social Business: an Inquiry on Italian Social Cooperatives," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 86(1), pages 105-136, March.
    2. Chiara Bentivogli & Eliana Viviano, 2012. "Changes in the Italian Economy: The Cooperatives," L'industria, Società editrice il Mulino, issue 3, pages 497-528.
    3. D. Joseph Stiglitz, 2009. "Moving Beyond Market Fundamentalism To A More Balanced Economy," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 80(3), pages 345-360, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Cited by:

    1. Guido Caselli & Michele Costa & Flavio Delbono, 2022. "What do cooperative firms maximize, if at all? Evidence from Emilia‐Romagna in the pre‐Covid decade," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 93(4), pages 821-847, December.
    2. Michele Costa & Flavio Delbono, 2021. "The Italian Geography of Regional Resilience: The Role of Cooperative Firms," Working Papers wp1166, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.
    3. Calabrese, Giuseppe Giulio & Falavigna, Greta, 2024. "Do social cooperatives stimulate social change? An investigation on Italian firms based on DEA-Malmquist approach," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    4. Flavio Delbono & Carlo Reggiani, 2024. "The Degeneration of Workers' Cooperatives under Endogenous Membership in Mixed Oligopoly," Working Papers wp1194, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.
    5. Michele Costa & Flavio Delbono & Francesco Linguiti, 2023. "The performance of cooperative Vs capitalistic micro firms in the pandemic," Working Papers wp1187, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.
    6. Carlo Borzaga & Chiara Carini & Ermanno Celeste Tortia, 2022. "Co‐operative enterprise anti‐cyclicality and the economic crisis: A comparative analysis of employment dynamics in Italy," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 93(3), pages 551-577, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Italy; Cooperatives; Statistics; Economic and employment size; Innovation and digitalization;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C81 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Methodology for Collecting, Estimating, and Organizing Microeconomic Data; Data Access
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • P13 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Cooperative Enterprises
    • J54 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Producer Cooperatives; Labor Managed Firms

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