Worker Cooperatives and Democratic Governance

42 Pages Posted: 20 Oct 2012

See all articles by John H. Pencavel

John H. Pencavel

Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR); IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Date Written: October 20, 2012

Abstract

A worker co-operative is a firm that is owned and managed by those who work in it. This paper provides a selective review of research in economics on worker cooperatives. It concentrates on the volatility of earnings and employment in the co-ops compared with conventional capitalist firms; on the long-term viability of co-ops; on the relative productive efficiency of co-ops; and on problems of democratic governance within co-ops. Using modern empirical methods applied to large numbers of observations, recent research has substantially enhanced our understanding of worker co-ops.

Keywords: worker cooperatives, comparative efficiency, viability

JEL Classification: J54

Suggested Citation

Pencavel, John H., Worker Cooperatives and Democratic Governance (October 20, 2012). IZA Discussion Paper No. 6932, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2164661 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2164661

John H. Pencavel (Contact Author)

Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR) ( email )

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IZA Institute of Labor Economics

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