Faces of Governance of Production Cooperatives: An Exploratory Study of Ten French Cooperatives

Abstract One of the main characteristics of French worker cooperatives is the principle of collective entrepreneurship. The aim of this article is to understand how it is applied, and in particular how the board of directors and the managing director work together. To answer this question, an exploratory study focused on ten French worker cooperatives in 1998 and 1999, during which we conducted interviews with their managing directors. The results show that three forms of collective entrepreneurship can be distinguished and that these forms depend on the context and the management of these worker cooperatives .     

经济学应该研究生产关系--兼评几种流行的关于经济学研究对象和方法的观点

经济学应该着重研究不同社会经济形态下生产关系的特殊运动形式。经济学必须研究具体的社会经济制度下生产关系的本质及其运动,不应把精力放在虚构某些抽象的、仿佛适用于一切社会的原则上,并把这些抽象原则作为研究的出发点。有经济学家公开宣扬,"人是自私的",说这是经济学的"结晶"、"精髓"。因此,经济学不需要去研究不同社会经济制度以及这些制度下人与人之间的经济关系,而只需要运用"人是自私的"这一原理来推断、分析各种经济问题。从实践上看,资产阶级学者从来都是利用"人的本性是自私的"这一命题来反对社会主义的。"保护个人财产,社会才能进步,经济才能发展"的说法,是一种反马克思主义的历史唯心主义的观点。     

The Psychology of Learning Economics: a Dissatisfied Economist's View

This article differs substantially from any previously published in this journal. Ellis relates research on the functions of the brain to certain aspects of economic thought, and discusses the implications of such research for the teaching of economics. His comments are bound to arouse a variety of reactions from the JEE's readers, regardless of which hemisphere of their brains they tend to favor!     

The First World/Third Party Criterion: A Feminist Critique of Production Boundaries in Economics

This paper examines definitions of production boundaries in economics, explores the limitations of these definitions with respect to the inclusion of unpaid domestic labor, and considers the significance of such an exploration for feminist economic analysis. Margaret Reid's ''third party criterion,'' a definition of economic activity advocated by many feminists and one used to set the production boundary for most household production models, sets an implicit market standard for defining nonmarket economic activity and therefore contributes to the marginalization of such production. Similarly, production boundaries considered appropriate in third world contexts, such as those defined in the recently revised System of National Accounts, also use implicit market standards for defining nonmarket economic activity. A ''first world'' criterion implicit in such production boundaries defines nonmarket activity as work only if it would have been dealt with on the market in the first world; this results in the inclusion of some of the unpaid domestic activity of rural women on grounds which reinforce the exclusion of work such as child care and the preparation of meals in theory and policy. Feminist economists should beware the danger of recreating implicit assumptions and definitions which result in the exclusion of unpaid domestic labor.     

合作社内部“影响成本”决定因素的实证分析——基于山东省苹果专业合作社的调查数据

鉴于合作社集体产权安排和成员股权无法转让等原因,当存在影响社员利益分享或成本分担的组织决策且上下级信息沟通渠道顺畅时,利益相关者就会试图扭曲组织决策以获取潜在收益,进而产生降低决策效率的影响成本。本文利用山东省苹果专业合作社的调研数据,首先测度合作社内部影响成本规模,然后采用有序Probit模型对合作社内部影响成本的决定因素进行实证分析。研究表明:社员异质性是导致合作社内部影响成本增加的关键性因素;管理者存在外部选择诱惑、采用一人一票制表决方式和合作社扩张社员规模等对合作社内部影响成本也具有正向显著影响。基于此,协调异质性社员的利益诉求、选择合适的组织决策模式和设计合理的管理者激励制度对于转型经济时期农民专业合作社的健康发展至关重要。     

An Educational Production Function for Principles of Economics

An educational production function is developed from the earlier models of Bloom, Hanushek, and Allison. Using two-stage least squares regression, the statistical analysis attempts to sort out the variables which are significant in explaining achievement and attitude in the first course in economics.     

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.     

用生态经济学理论指导中国生态省建设

A major issue in China’s present ecological economic con-struction is to build the ecological province.In March of1999,Hainan Province of China proposed setting up the first eco-logical province and was accredited by the Bureau of StateEnvironment Protection as the pilot project.Up to now foronly four years,Hainan,Jilin,Heilongjiang,Fujian,Zhejiang,Shandong,Anhui,Jiangsu,eight provinces in the wholecountry,having launched the establishment of the ecologicalprovince.Meanwhile,the provin…