Suchergebnisse

Este informe realiza una contribución oportuna a la discusión global sobre los enfoques alternativos necesarios para promover los objetivos del desarrollo sostenible como consecuencia de la crisis económica global. Muestra cómo el éxito de las cooperativas financieras durante la crisis financiera global puede representar una alternativa creíble al sistema conformado por los bancos propiedad de los inversores

Ce rapport vient opportunément apporter sa contribution au débat mondial sur les alternatives envisageables pour promouvoir les objectifs du développement durable au lendemain de la crise économique mondiale. Il montre que la prospérité des coopératives financières pendant la crise financière mondiale pourrait être porteuse d'une alternative crédible au système bancaire d'investissement

This is a book in search of an alternative to the discredited investor-owned banks that have brought the rich countries into crisis and the world economy into a long period of austerity. It finds customer-owned banks – credit unions, co-operative banks, building societies – have hardly been affected by the crisis and continue to operate according to their organisational DNA: low-risk, close to the customer, underpinned by real savings, and still lending to SMEs to protect jobs and local economies. They are big business – in some countries with over 40% of the market – but networked in smaller, democratic societies whose origins go back to 1850s Germany.

Housing Policy in the 1990s explores the deluge of Conservative legislation of the late 1980s and examines what its effects will be during this decade and into the next century. The contributors discuss and clarify the main aims of the government re-structuring of social strategy and assess its effects on British housing

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate various organizational models for the ownership and control of natural monopolies – specifically the infrastructure of water and sewage provision in England and Wales. First, it summarizes recent discussion of who should own water assets in Britain. The paper notes the opportunity that has arisen for increased consumer involvement, and examines the relative merits of three models that have been suggested as alternatives: a non‐profit trust or company, a public interest company, and a consumer mutual. Five criteria are suggested for evaluating the merits of each type: its ability to safeguard the interests of the most important stakeholder, the consumer; avoid the necessity for a heavy regulatory regime; incentivize management to manage efficiently but without 'producer capture'; raise capital relatively cheaply; and resist pressures to demutualize. The paper agrees with the recent paper in this Journal by Morse (2000) that, in theory, the consumer mutual has advantages. It draws on Hansmann's work that suggests consumer ownership of water would be less costly than investor‐ownership, providing there are no large conflicts of interest between different types of consumer. Hansmann's thesis is expanded to consider the likely benefits from wider member participation, and the hidden costs of not taking members into account. It then tests out whether customers would be motivated in practice to be active members, introducing a theoretical model of what motivates members of co‐operatives and mutuals to participate. The conclusions are that provided managers and board members are committed to encouraging member participation, the consumer mutual model would work well. It would need only light regulation, would avoid producer capture, and would be able to raise capital fairly easily, both from money markets and from members. It would need legislation to prevent it from being demutualized at some time in the future. However, if a participatory corporate culture cannot be guaranteed, or if there is a risk of decline of participation over time, other options such as a non‐profit trust or a public interest company would be less risky.

ABSTRACT**:  This article reports on findings from a three year study of co‐operatives in Sri Lanka and Tanzania. The article asks three questions: why do co‐operative sectors need reforming; what is the co‐operative reform process; and why has reform succeeded in some countries but not others? It provides a short history of co‐operatives in three phases: the colonial period, the post‐colonial nationalist period and the period of market liberalisation. It shows that the control exercised by colonial governments was deepened under nationalist governments, with co‐operatives becoming parastatals. Liberalisation brought a sustained attempt by international agencies to reassert the distinctive nature of co‐operatives as member‐owned businesses. However, co‐ops were ill‐prepared to adjust to a competitive market and the lifting of government regulation; many failed, some were corrupted, while a few became truly member‐controlled. The article draws on documentary analysis and key informant interviews to provide accounts of the reform process in Tanzania and Sri Lanka. It finds that the process is incomplete and often contested.