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Comparative productivity analysis between labour-managed firms and conventional capitalist companies in Spain

Author

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  • Alí Colina Rojas

    (Departamento de Economía, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales, Universidad de Los Andes. Dirección: Avenida Las Américas. Núcleo Universitario Liria, Edificio H, Piso 3. Código postal 5101, Mérida, Venezuela.)

  • Pilar Zarzosa Espina

    (Departamento de Economía Aplicada, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales, Universidad de Valladolid. Dirección: Avenida Valle de Esgueva, Nº 6, Código postal 47011, Valladolid, España.)

Abstract

The comparative analysis of productivity of the cooperative and capitalist forms of organization has been performed in different countries using various methodologies. In Spain, the Mondragon industrial cooperatives have been studied in depth; however, empirical research comparing the two forms of organization is scarce. This paper represents an empirical contribution using a sample of Spanish manufacturing firms and demonstrates that the productivity of worker-owned firms (including cooperatives and sociedades laborales) is smaller than the productivity of capitalist firms. These findings are based on the estimation, by means generalized method of moments, of a Cobb-Douglas production function. The econometric model includes a dummy variable for measuring the effect of worker-owned form of organization on labor-productivity.

Suggested Citation

  • Alí Colina Rojas & Pilar Zarzosa Espina, 2012. "Comparative productivity analysis between labour-managed firms and conventional capitalist companies in Spain," Economía, Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales (IIES). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales. Universidad de Los Andes. Mérida, Venezuela, vol. 37(33), pages 11-41, January-J.
    • Handle: RePEc:ula:econom:v:37:y:2012:i:33:p:11-41
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Worker-owned firms; comparative analysis of productivity; Cobb-Douglas production function; firm panel data.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D23 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Organizational Behavior; Transaction Costs; Property Rights
    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • J54 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Producer Cooperatives; Labor Managed Firms
    • L25 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Performance
    • P13 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Cooperative Enterprises

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