- Title
- The importance of co-operatives to the New Zealand economy: constructing a co-operative economy
- Creator
- Altman, Morris
- Relation
- International Journal of Social Economics Vol. 44, Issue 12, p. 2086-2096
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/IJSE-06-2016-0174
- Publisher
- Emerald
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2017
- Description
- Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to measure the size of New Zealand's co-operative sector, in terms of its direct contribution to output and employment as well as its indirect impact. This adds to the construction of a rigorous representation of the global co-operative economy. Design/methodology/approach: The findings here are based on data derived largely from surveying the co-operative sector in 2012. A value added approach is used to estimate the co-ops sector's contribution to New Zealand's GNP. Findings: The author estimates suggest that the cooperative sector is much larger, even in its direct impact on the economy, than the prior estimates indicate. Research limitations/implications: Assumptions were made on the size contribution of missing firms and the value added contribution of co-ops. These assumptions need to be interrogated and improved upon, albeit the assumptions are designed to generate lower bound size estimates. Practical implications: The methodology adopted in this paper can be used to develop more rigorous estimates of the size of the co-op sector globally. Social implications: The results empirically challenge the worldview of conventional economics that co-ops are not economically sustainable, where co-ops offer a more equitable and democratic mode for production and development. Originality/value: This paper presents revised, relatively robust, and methodologically transparent estimates of the size of New Zealand's co-operative sector. These estimates suggest a much larger sector than previously thought. The methodology developed here can contribute to developing more robust estimates of the size of the co-op sector globally.
- Subject
- co-operatives; co-operative advantage; New Zealand co-operative sector; size of co-operative sector; value added methodology
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1394330
- Identifier
- uon:33679
- Identifier
- ISSN:0306-8293
- Language
- eng
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