农民专业合作社收益分配机制及影响因素分析

收益分配制度是确定农民专业合作社和社员关系的关键因素。从决策机制、股权结构、合作社文化等方面分析我国不同地区农民专业合作经济组织收益分配制度,发现多种因素影响我国农民专业合作社分配制度,应从完善合作社社员大会制度、规范合作社的股权结构、完善分配制度等方面建立和完善农民专业合作社盈余分配机制,以实现合作社社会公平和经济效率的双重属性,促进农民专业合作社持续、健康发展。     

COMMUNITY AND COOPERATION: THE EVOLUTION OF COOPERATIVES TOWARDS NEW MODELS OF CITIZENS' DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION IN PUBLIC SERVICES PROVISION

The community cooperatives that are spreading today in many parts of the world are the arrival point of an evolutionary process that has seen the progressive shift of cooperatives’ focus from specific social and professional groups to society as a whole. This evolution is marked by two changes. The first was at the turn of the 19th century when there made their appearance the first community cooperatives which catered to the needs of a whole community. Among them were electric cooperatives, cooperative banks and some kinds of agricultural cooperatives. A further development relevant to the evolution of community cooperatives occurred towards the end of the last century with the enlargement of cooperatives’ aims to embrace society's benefit. From this process there emerge in total four categories of cooperatives which taken together constitute a complete classification of the cooperative universe. New community cooperatives are the off‐springs of the old ones but the picture is rather confused. The term itself is relatively new and similar institutions are named differently at different times. Moreover, though having a few basic features in common, they differ much from one another and from the old ones. To take care of this we elaborate a concept of community cooperative consistent with its evolution and the classification of cooperatives we have identified. Basic elements of the concept are community goods, territory and citizenship, which are discussed extensively with reference to factual cases. We then discuss in what way new community cooperatives differ from old ones. The paper closes with a discussion of their future prospects.     

REINVENTING THE WHEEL? AFRICAN COOPERATIVES IN A LIBERALIZED ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT

ABSTRACT ** :  Cooperative development in Africa can be said to have traversed two main eras: the era of state control and that of liberalization. The first era lasted up to the early 1990s and saw the origin and substantial growth of cooperatives on the continent. During that period, different models of cooperative development were introduced on the continent. We distinguish a unified cooperative model, a social economy model, a social movement model, a producers' model and an indigenous model. But in all cases, cooperatives were engulfed into state politics. However, little is known about the impact of liberalization measures on these models. Our research in 11 African countries reveals that cooperatives in Africa have survived the market forces and continued to grow in number and membership. We see a slow but sure erosion of the unified model and the adoption of a social economy model. Cooperatives in Africa are re-examining their organizational forms and diversifying their activities in response to members' interests and needs.     

Entrepreneurial ecosystem for cooperatives: The case of Kyrgyz agricultural cooperatives

The article discusses the development of agricultural cooperatives in Kyrgyzstan from an entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE) perspective. Agricultural development priorities explain cooperatives’ importance in Kyrgyz government's policies, but cooperatives still fail at countering the challenges of the smallholder economy. Considering agricultural cooperatives as a form of rural entrepreneurship, this paper aims to contribute to the discussion of the factors that support cooperatives in developing countries adapting the EE framework to cooperative entrepreneurship. Using a content analysis method, we analysed and coded textual data from documentary and archival publications on the agricultural cooperatives in Kyrgyzstan published by the government, cooperatives and their unions and the reports of international organizations. We identify five main dimensions of the cooperative entrepreneurial ecosystem for cooperatives: (1) policy and regulatory framework; (2) education and skills; (3) market environment; (4) culture; (5) networks. We found that even if the overall structure of cooperatives’ EE can be comparable to conventional enterprises, its sub-elements significantly differ for cooperative enterprises. Despite its exploratory character and single-case research design, this article contributes to the theoretical discussion on cooperative entrepreneurial ecosystems in post-socialist developing contexts and offers a framework of analysis for cooperative development policies and practices.     

Risk aversion,cooperative membership,and path dependences of smallholder farmers in Ethiopia

Smallholder farmers in Sub‐Saharan Africa often mitigate production risks through cooperative membership: institutionalized arrangements where they pool resources and collectively manage production and marketing chains. Cooperative membership has a significant advantage: it cushions detrimental effects of external forces, placing a premium on a risk‐seeking attitude (experimenting and innovating), which can yield greater accumulation. However, cooperatives are self‐selective institutions: relatively better‐endowed farmers, who are usually less risk‐avoidant than poorer ones (a consequence of their broader material bases), tend to be overrepresented. These two realities complicate the causal assessment of the relationships between risk attitudes, farmers’ socioeconomic status, and cooperative membership that is essential to comprehend the role of cooperatives in local capital accumulation. To help resolve this thorny analytical problem, an experimental study was carried out in eastern Ethiopia—a risky production environment where cooperatives feature prominently and relatively affluent farmers exist alongside poorer ones. It unveils the working of specific path dependences: poorer cooperative members are less risk seeking than nonmembers, but at an interval much less than that observed for affluent farmers. For development policies, this suggests that a greater payoff can be expected from investing in farmers’ material bases than from further improving cooperative membership.     

COLLECTIVE ACTION AND ASPIRATIONS: THE IMPACT OF COOPERATIVES ON ETHIOPIAN COFFEE FARMERS’ ASPIRATIONS

Aspirations motivate behaviours, serve to mobilize and direct energy into actions, and are regarded as important determinants of success. Given the importance of aspirations and their formation in social interaction, the objective of this article is to evaluate if cooperative membership can have effects on members' aspiration levels. Face‐to‐face interviews were conducted with 305 Ethiopian coffee farmers on their aspired levels in five dimensions of their lives. Results, using a propensity score matching technique, show that membership in cooperatives significantly improves the aspiration levels of the members. The article emphasizes the utilization of this hidden but important benefit of cooperatives.     

Farmers’ organizations and sustainable development: An introduction

This special issue features 14 new research papers investigating the role of farmers’ organizations (e.g., collective action, self-help groups, producer companies/organizations, and cooperatives) in supporting sustainable development. The key findings include: (1) farmer groups and cooperatives promote farmers’ adoption of good farm management practices, new agricultural technologies and sustainable farming practices, although not substantially improving farm yield; (2) outsourcing services provided by agricultural cooperatives help to increase the technical efficiency of crop production; (3) cooperative membership enhances members’ bargaining power and enables them to sell their products at higher prices; (4) cooperatives motivate rural laborers to work in off-farm sectors, while self-help groups empower rural women in decision-making; (5) internet use improves agricultural cooperatives’ economic, social, and innovative performances; (6) direct administrative intervention supporting cooperative development may lead to the emergence of shell cooperatives; (7) participation in forest farmer organizations enables wood value chain upgrading; (8) increasing the cooperative size in terms of income, equity, and assets increases the profitability of savings and credit cooperatives; and (9) creating cross-border cooperation between cooperatives generates benefits for all parties involved. These findings can inspire the design of policies aimed to support farmers’ organizations in achieving sustainable development goals.     

SOCIAL CAPITAL,GOVERNANCE AND PERFORMANCE OF ETHIOPIAN COFFEE COOPERATIVES

ABSTRACT: The performance of agrarian cooperatives strongly depends on the interaction between internal cohesion and external exchange. Empirical assessments of social capital and trust within cooperatives suggest that market involvement could enhance collective action. This relationship may not hold, however, under circumstances of heterogeneous membership and strong state control. We use field data from a comparative sample of 500 coffee farmers belonging to five cooperatives of Sidama Cooperative Union, Ethiopia to outline how differences in economic performance are related to the structure of social networks. We identify clear trade‐offs between bonding and bridging social capital that favour remotely located cooperatives.     

Cross-border cooperation: A response to the challenges facing agri-food cooperatives in Southern European countries

All agri-food cooperatives share common interests, irrespective of their geographical borders, which should encourage them to undertake inter-cooperation processes as well as to set up transnational cooperatives. This paper has two objectives. The first is to analyze Spanish and Portuguese cooperative regulations and the Statute for a European Cooperative Society to define how to embark on these processes in the two countries while also pinpointing the conflicts that may arise from the different regulations. Secondly, it seeks to ascertain which Spanish and Portuguese cooperatives have had experience in this field and to characterize them through a multiple-case study, including the rationale for the processes, the advantages and the constraints. The results have revealed five cross-border cooperation categories and show that the Statute for a European Cooperative Society has not had the expected success at the EU level, due to its complexity. However, in general, the lack of expected cross-border cooperative experiences is not due to legal, language or management issues. It is for different reasons. Firstly, cooperatives think that they can achieve the same objectives through inter-cooperative agreements. Secondly, government policies protect the regional nature of their cooperatives, rather than encouraging them to expand their business and therefore their capacity to respond to current challenges.     

The Internationalisation of Cooperatives: The Case of the Mondragon Cooperative Corporation

Abstract: This paper outlines the internationalisation process of cooperatives in an economic environment determined by economic globalisation. The analysis is focused on the Mondragon Cooperative Corporation (MCC) in the Basque Country which is a point of reference for participatory enterprises all over the world. MCC is currently adapting to changing market conditions and pursuing a strategy of direct investment (joint ventures, greenfield investment and acquisitions) in priority international markets. Thus, the first part of the study is about the current situation: the problems and consequences related to the internationalisation process of the MCC. In the second part, we consider an analytical framework for developing measures and strategies which could facilitate international expansion but in a manner which is more in line with cooperative values. The third part focuses on the presentation and discussion, based on this analytical framework, of a number of proposals made within the MCC on international social‐economic policy.     

SOME OBSERVATIONS ON A RECENT ATTEMPT AT INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION BETWEEN CONSUMER COOPERATIVES*

ABSTRACT: The catastrophe of Konsum Austria in spring 1995 put an end to the alliance between this large but ailing consumer cooperative and the Swiss Migros group. The circumstances of this tragic event illustrate that cooperation between cooperatives should either be based on an equal footing between partners of approximately equal strength and in good economic health or that it should openly reflect large differences in economic status.     

Social cooperatives,social welfare associations and social networks

We use an original data-set to study how participation in two types of non-profit organizations – i.e. social welfare associations and social cooperatives – affects individual social capital, understood as a network of cooperative relationships. Participation in both the types of organization allows members to start new social relations. However, social welfare associations seem to play a significantly greater role in the development of volunteers’ social capital, favouring the creation of weak ties that are used to exchange information and advice, and offering the opportunity to establish stronger ties entailing concrete mutual support. Within social cooperatives, workers appear to develop their individual social capital to a greater extent than volunteers. Our results suggest that the composition of the workforce, the depth of members’ involvement in the organization’s activities and the human resources strategies adopted by the management influence the creation of cooperative relations through on-the-job interactions.     

The socio-economic impact of certification schemes in conflict-affected regions: The case of arabica coffee in the Eastern DRC

The paper investigates the benefits of certification of cooperatives in conflict-affected areas. We study whether and how certification may contribute to attenuate the impact of conflicts on the members of coffee cooperatives in the Eastern DRC. We use an inverse probability weighted difference-in-difference approach to study data collected between December 2017 and October 2019 from four NGO-supported cooperatives. Two of these cooperatives got organic certification in 2018, of which one got an additional Small Producers Symbol (SPP) certification in 2018. Certified cooperatives allow Arabica coffee producers to access markets and buffer against drops in market prices. Results indicate that certified cooperatives were better able to resist the international price drop than non-certified cooperatives and the alternative informal markets. The results also suggest that certified cooperative members increased their sales to the cooperative instead of turning to informal side-selling. We find a decrease in reported food deficits by the members of certified cooperatives and an increase in the importance of coffee in their household's income. We conclude that certification is an effective way forward for smallholder coffee producers and cooperatives in unstable regions.     

农民专业合作社理事长胜任特征及其绩效的实证分析

基于重庆市157家农民专业合作社理事长的调查数据,通过因子分析从12个胜任特征中总结出通用管理能力、特殊沟通能力、企业家精神和外部社会资本四类胜任力特征因素。运用有序概率回归的方法,对合作社理事长胜任力特征因素与组织绩效的关系进行实证分析发现:通用管理胜任力、企业家精神能显著改善合作社整体绩效,特殊沟通能力只与合作社的社会绩效正相关,外部社会资本只对合作社的业务增长产生正向影响。     

CHARACTERIZATION AND ANALYSIS OF COOPERATIVE MERGERS AND THEIR RESULTS

This study characterizes the mergers and acquisitions undertaken in the Spanish agrifood sector during the period 1995–2005. First, it aims to establish the pre‐merger financial characteristics of the merging cooperatives in comparison with other firms in the agrifood sector. For this, the financial situation is analyzed in the different types of merger carried out (merger by formation or merger by acquisition), and the different roles played by the cooperatives (acquiring, acquired or involved in a merger in which a new cooperative is formed). The second and final objective is to determine whether these mergers have managed to improve the economic‐financial situation of the companies involved, either by increasing income and size or by reducing relative costs. For this purpose, several non parametric tests and a probit model were used. The results show that on average following a merger there were no statistically significant improvements in the economic‐financial indicators studied.     

Growth of Investor Owned and Cooperative Firms in Greek Dairy Industry

This paper examines the factors that affect the annual growth of cooperatives and investor owned firms (IOF) in Greek diary industry over the period 1990–94. A comparison based on both cooperative principals and property rights theory is made between IOFs and cooperatives to study their characteristics. However an empirical work is required to explain differences, if any, in the growth of the two types of firms within the same market. The work examines the determinants of the annual growth and it tests whether significant differences between IOFs and cooperatives exist. Ordinary least squares results show that both diversification and advertising strategies are important determinants for IOF growth, while the cooperative growth depends on capital structure and intensity and these organizations do not effectively apply competitive strategies.     

Reflections on Social Economics in a Diverse and Open Economics

Many economists adopt a critical stance on cooperatives. One example is the claim that larger membership in cooperative banks is detrimental to performance. We re-examine this earlier finding by drawing from a richer and broader conceptual framework than used previously and conclude that in recent years, the relationship between membership and performance may be positive. In our empirical analysis, we use new data for Finnish cooperative banks and, compared to earlier work, develop an alternative measure for membership and employ improved estimation methods. A positive relationship between membership and performance in financial cooperatives is consistently found. We discuss our findings in light of an emerging body of theoretical and empirical work on cooperatives, especially for financial cooperatives, and argue that a new view of cooperatives is warranted.     

基于技术外溢性的寡头垄断企业研发投资的动态博弈分析

在现代经济社会条件下,企业通过合作研发可以使研发的外部效应内部化,激励企业进行更多的研发活动。同样,合作企业可以共享信息和研究成果,提高研发效率。本文将结合企业研发投资过程中的实际情况,在假定技术不完全独占即存在技术溢出的情况下,通过构建一个两阶段寡头博弈模型对寡头垄断企业R＆D进行研究,比较寡头垄断企业在合作研发与非合作研发两种情况下研发投入、产出、社会福利的变化,从中探求合作研究的原因。     

Commons and cooperatives: A new governance of collective action

The Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) is emerging as a social movement capable of moving society beyond the imbalances of the capitalist market economy and its top‐down regulation by the state. But the SSE's progress has been slow while unresolved challenges (e.g., climate, inequality) continue to intensify. Among communitarian responses to these challenges, the commons have shown great potential as a shared governance mechanism for the responsible management of common‐pool resources. To the extent that this success encourages broader applicability for commons, we focus also on commoning as crucial social practice rooted in collective action and adaptive governance. Adding this dimension of activism opens the possibility of enriching the SSE both in theory and practice for the purpose of strengthening its institutional make‐up, in particular cooperatives occupying a central position in SSE. Commoning enables us to conceive of tangible connections between commons and cooperatives as complementary modes of anti‐capitalist organization. We can illustrate this complementarity by analyzing how Ostrom's “design principles” for commons can help strengthen the ICA's Cooperative Principles. Useful lessons can be learned from concrete examples of commons–cooperative alliances, such as Ecuador's Buen Vivir initiative, the Enercoop PACA project in France, and Oakland's OmniCommons space.     

The regulatory effect of cooperation degree in increasing tobacco farmers’ income by mitigating production risk shocks

Context : Different from general agriculture, tobacco agriculture in China adopts the production mode of farmers’ cooperatives to instruct farmers to engage in tobacco agricultural production under a policy of tobacco control. In addition to providing convenience for industry technical standardization, the policy goal aims to cope with the impact of production risk shocks and ultimately ensure the modernization and transformation of the tobacco industry and the stability of income of farmers. Objective : This study intends to explore the influence mechanism of the different degrees of cooperation and participation in cooperatives on the income of tobacco farmers from the perspective of risk shocks. Methods : Through the quantitative methods of the OLS regression model, hierarchical regression model and moderation model, this paper analyzes the data of 393 farmers engaged in tobacco agricultural production in Shaanxi Province obtained from survey and empirically analyzes the relationship between the degree of cooperation and participation in cooperatives and income. Interaction terms between risk shocks and cooperation are introduced to verify the regulatory effect of participation in tobacco farmers’ professional cooperatives on mitigating risk shocks and improving agricultural income. Results and conclusions : The results show that while risk shocks, including natural risks, market risks and policy risks, negatively affect the income of tobacco farmers, the degree of cooperation and participation has a significant positive effect on the income of tobacco farmers, and the degree of peasant households’ participation in the professional cooperative of tobacco farmers as a moderator variable has a regulatory effect on mitigating the impact of risk shocks on the income of tobacco farmers. The mechanism of action is that tobacco farmers participate in cooperatives to a higher degree, which can further promote the association of farmers and jointly resist risk shocks by reducing production costs, improving the technical level, and strengthening risk prevention and other measures to improve the income level. Significance : It would be helpful to encourage tobacco farmers to take the initiative to participate in the daily management-related affairs and decisions of cooperatives, strengthen technical training, obey cooperative management, and actively respond to cooperative policies to effectively resist risk shocks and stabilize farmers’ income level and family welfare.