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Although the trade union and producer co-operative movements have similar historical roots and share many common aims, the relationships between the two have often been uneasy. As the number of new producer co-operatives has recently increased rapidly in many Western countries this paper aims to reexamine the relationship between the two movements. The paper is in two parts. The first part re-appraises some of the arguments against trade unions supporting producer co-operatives. The second part describes the role that trade unions could play both within individual producer co-operatives and in the wider movement. The author concludes that both movements have much to gain from closer collaboration.

Traditional explanations of interaction (trade) in city systems fail to capture the breadth and complexity of extraregional markets in the producer services. Building on market‐process theory, which argues that markets are adaptive and rarely in equilibrium, the development of extraregional trade in the producer services was investigated as a form of firm‐level entrepreneurship. While firms' entrepreneurial behaviors are influenced by a variety of internal characteristics, such as entrepreneurial spirit, size, age, and ownership, it is argued that a firm's location is an important conditioning factor on the degree of success it achieves with market expansion. The hypothesis is evaluated using spatial market extent data developed from a survey of 615 producer service firms located in 16 Midwest cities. A firm's degree of entrepreneurship is indexed by a qualitative assessment of its marketing activities, ranging from "aggressive" to "none." Cox proportional hazards models, in a spatial‐analog of survival analysis, were used to examine the influence of entrepreneurship on the spatial extents of firms' markets. The results confirm that location, more so than firm size or age, has a significant influence on the spatial extent of a firm's extraregional trade. The influence of location is generally complex: surfacing directly as a market scale effect, and indirectly as a conditioning factor on the success of a firm's entrepreneurial behavior. The results suggest that extraregional trade in producers services is predicated on more than just production cost (i.e., internal or external scale economies) or distribution cost (i.e., distance) factors, and that behavioral theories of the market can provide meaningful insight into the geography of market interaction.

This article analyzes the multifaceted connections linking consumers and producers in expanding North/South Fair Trade coffee networks. I develop a commodity network framework that builds on the commodity chain tradition, integrating insights from cultural studies, actor–network theory, and conventions approaches. This framework illuminates how material and ideological relations are negotiated across production and consumption arenas. In the case of Fair Trade, progressive ideas and practices related to trust, equality, and global responsibility are intertwined with traditional commercial and industrial conventions. As I demonstrate, the negotiation of these divergent conventions shortens the social distance between Fair Trade coffee consumers and producers. I conclude that by re–linking consumers and producers, commodity network analysis provides a robust entré for academic inquiry and engagement in alternative food politics.

ABSTRACTThis paper reviews some of the past decade's studies of producer or intermediate‐services exports from local regions. After a discussion of conceptual and methodological problems and inconsistencies, we present these studies according to the three basic methodologies: surveys, location quotients, and input‐output. Overall, our sense is that these studies support limited but important conclusions: (1) If intermediate services are defined broadly, certain of these activities have as their major function interregional or international transfer or trade. By nature, these distributive services have widespread clients, and benefit from locations with substantial physical and communications infrastructure. (2) Among most business‐and financial‐service activities, most offices are established to serve a local region, but may derive some revenues from beyond this expected zone. (3) The exceptions—the activities and establishments that derive much of their revenue beyond such "normal" zones—are particularly specialized, particularly large, or parts of multiregional enterprises. (4) Such firms tend to locate in larger or more specialized urban places, probably because of the labor force, the corporate connections, and the rapid dissemination of ideas, contacts, and information within and among the largest metropolitan areas. These conclusions lead to some general policy recommendations.

This article examines the ongoing rapid expansion in Fair Trade coffee networks linking Northern consumers with producers in the global South. It provides a comparative analysis of the experiences of seven coffee producer co-operatives in Latin America, identifying the characteristics which facilitate successful integration into Fair Trade networks. The analysis finds that coffee organizations, communities and producers derive important material and non-material benefits from Fair Trade. While the financial benefits of Fair Trade appear the most important in the short run, it is the capacity building nature of Fair Trade that will prove the most important in fueling sustainable development in the long run. (InWent/DÜI)

AbstractThis article examines the ongoing rapid expansion in Fair Trade coffee networks linking Northern consumers with producers in the global South. We provide a comparative analysis of the experiences of seven coffee producer co‐operatives in Latin America, identifying the characteristics which facilitate successful integration into Fair Trade networks. Our analysis finds that coffee organizations, communities and producers derive important material and non‐material benefits from Fair Trade. We conclude that while the financial benefits of Fair Trade appear the most important in the short run, it is the capacity building nature of Fair Trade that will prove the most important in fueling sustainable development in the long run. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Describes and evaluates farmers' markets and pick-your-own operations; US.